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The space enthusiast, who has spent more than 50 days in space, wants to change policy with regards to climate change, affordable health care, the stagnation of wages, job growth and the
economy. The 54-year-old, who has made four space missions for NASA from 2001 to 2011, made the announcement by a Twitter video. Mr Kelly said: “I care about people. I care about the state
of Arizona. I care about this nation. So because of that, I’ve decided that I’m launching a campaign for the United States Senate.” Mr Kelly said he has learnt a lot from being an astronaut,
as well as from being a pilot in the navy and being an engineer. He also said he has learnt from his wife “how to use policy to improve people’s lives”. Mr Kelly’s wife is the former
Democratic member of the House of Representatives Gabby Giffords who survived a shooting in 2011. She resigned from Congress in 2012 so she could focus on her recovery and in 2013, they both
launched a nonprofit organisation to support gun control. Following the shooting, Mr Kelly became a household name as he was by his wife’s side while she was undergoing physical
rehabilitation to speech and walk again. Mr Kelly also said in his Senate campaign: “Our fight to improve our gun laws and my commitment to tackling climate change and ending the outrageous
influence corporate money has on our politics means there are a lot of powerful interests who want to stop us.” Mr Kelly is often on television where he speaks about the need for stricter
gun laws. The Republican Ruben Gallego of Phoenix has also announced he will be running in the Senate campaign. He has tweeted: “I've made no secret of the fact that I'm looking
seriously at running for the U.S. Senate in 2020, and that hasn't changed. “I’ll be making a final decision and announcement soon.” Although President Donald Trump won Arizona in the
2016 elections, the US media believe that the state will be a key seat in the 2020 elections.