Over the weekend, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly stirred the pot of speculation regarding Vice President Harris’s selection process for her running mate after deleting a social media post on the platform X.
Initially, Kelly had posted about his focus on serving the people of Arizona, amidst rumors of his consideration for Harris’s vice-presidential slot. His original post read, “My background is a bit different than most politicians. I spent my life serving in the Navy and at NASA, where the mission always comes first. Now, my mission is serving Arizonans.” However, less than an hour after the post went live, Kelly opted to delete it and replace it with another, stating, “Whether it was from my time in the Navy and at NASA, serving in the United States Senate, or visiting our troops overseas: I’ve learned that when your country asks you to serve, you always answer the call.”
The change in tone triggered increased speculation among social media users, with numerous replies probing Kelly about whether he was hinting at being Harris’s choice for VP. Reactions ranged from excited conjectures about Kelly’s potential selection to direct queries about his involvement in the “veepstakes.”
Amidst the rising curiosity, Kelly’s spokesperson, Jacob Peters, addressed the public response with a statement on X suggesting that there was an overinterpretation of the senator’s words, emphasizing, “An Arizona senator tweeting about being an Arizona senator is not news! Go back to your Sundays everybody!”
Kelly is a prominent figure in a group of Democratic Party rising stars considered for Vice President Harris’s running mate. This comes after President Biden endorsed Harris to succeed him, creating a flurry of activity to select a VP nominee on a tight schedule. Over the weekend, Harris was reported to be conducting interviews with potential candidates, including Kelly, at her Naval Observatory residence in Washington.
Reports have included Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as also being in the running, with Reuters stating that interviews took place with these candidates on Sunday. The Democratic presidential nominee Harris, who secured the nomination last week, is slated to announce her vice-presidential pick by Tuesday, ahead of a strategic campaign tour spanning four days and seven states.
