Quick Facts About Mark Kelly: Meet the Man Trump Called a Traitor Who Is Now Eyeing a Presidential Run

Not many politicians can say they have orbited the Earth, survived a political assassination attempt on their family, and beaten the US Defence Secretary in court, all before floating a White House bid. But that is precisely where Mark Kelly finds himself in February 2026. The Arizona senator told BBC Newsnight he is 'seriously' weighing a 2028 presidential run, saying he is driven by 'some seriously challenging times'.

He has not committed yet—'it's a serious decision, I just haven't made it yet'—but the signal was clear enough to set political circles buzzing. For anyone outside the US who has not been following his rise, here is what you need to know about the man Donald Trump once called a traitor.

Born to Serve

Kelly grew up in West Orange, New Jersey, the son of two police officers. He was not always a model student; he has admitted to poor grades in middle school, but he turned it around, eventually earning a bachelor's degree in marine engineering from the US Merchant Marine Academy and a master's degree in aeronautical engineering from the US Naval Postgraduate School. That second degree makes him, by his own account, the only senator currently holding a graduate engineering qualification.

He joined the Navy in 1986 and flew 39 combat missions over Iraq during Operation Desert Storm, logging more than 5,000 flight hours across over 50 different aircraft before retiring as a Captain.

Gabby Giffords, Gun Reform, and the Astronaut Enter the Senate

In 1996, Kelly was selected by NASA as a Space Shuttle pilot in the same class as his identical twin brother Scott, a coincidence that later led to a landmark NASA study on the physical effects of long-term spaceflight. Kelly flew four missions in total, spending more than 50 days in space and travelling over 20 million miles. His last mission in 2011 was as commander of Space Shuttle Endeavour's final ever flight.

That same year, Kelly's wife—then Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords—was shot and critically wounded at a constituent event in Tucson. Six people were killed. Kelly retired from NASA shortly after to support her recovery, and the two went on to co-found Giffords, one of the most prominent gun violence prevention organisations in the country. It is a chapter that shaped him politically as much as anything else in his biography.

Kelly ran for Senate in 2019, flipping a seat that had been in Republican hands for more than five decades—previously held by icons like Barry Goldwater and John McCain. He won in 2020 and was re-elected in 2022. By 2024, his profile had grown enough that he was reportedly on Kamala Harris's shortlist for running mate before she chose Tim Walz.

Why Trump Came After Him

In November 2025, Kelly joined five other Democratic lawmakers, all with military or intelligence backgrounds, in releasing a video urging service members to refuse unlawful orders. Trump erupted on Truth Social, accusing them of 'seditious behaviour, punishable by death'. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth moved to formally censure Kelly and cut his military retirement rank and pay. Kelly fought back in court.

On 12 February 2026, US District Judge Richard Leon, a George W Bush appointee, ruled firmly in Kelly's favour, writing that the administration had 'trampled on Senator Kelly's First Amendment freedoms'. A federal grand jury had also separately refused to indict Kelly or his colleagues. After the ruling, Kelly said the case 'was never just about me: this administration was sending a message to millions of retired veterans that they too can be censured or demoted just for speaking out'.

The 2028 Picture

Kelly now enters a wide-open Democratic field. Betting markets put him at 16/1 for the Democratic nomination, level with Harris and behind frontrunners like Gavin Newsom. No formal announcement is expected before the 2026 midterms.

What makes Kelly an unusual figure in this conversation is that his credibility is not built on political longevity but on things most politicians simply do not have: combat experience, engineering expertise, time in space, and a very public legal battle with the sitting Defence Secretary that he won. Whether that translates into a viable presidential campaign remains to be seen, but for a Democratic Party still searching for its next standard-bearer, Kelly's biography alone makes him worth watching.