Why Not Send An Astronaut to the White House?

An astronaut planting a flag on the roof of the White House. Photo generated by the Author using DALL.E 2 AI.

In April of 2023, sitting U.S. President Joe Biden announced his reelection campaign. At 81 years old, the president’s age already places him above the average life expectancy for American men of 77 years. His announcement of candidacy has thus drawn skepticism from younger voters—a key demographic that helped him win in 2020—and from dissenting Democratic voices seeking more dynamism in the White House. 

Biden won his first election on a promise to bring back stability and decorum to an office badly beaten down by the Trump Administration and its incessant scandals. In his choice of Kamala Harris as his vice president, many pundits saw a designated successor, paving the way for the first African-American and Asian-American woman president. But since her election, Vice President Harris has been unable to maintain her popularity as a prospective leader of the Democratic camp. As a recent New York Times article argued, the Vice President is “still struggling to make the case for herself,” which might explain President Biden’s decision to run a second time instead of passing on the torch. Therefore, the Democrats’ decision to postpone a Harris campaign seems sound—but she will remain first in line to assume the presidency if Biden is unable to complete his second term. This would then threaten the Democrats’ prospects for the 2028 election, as they would have to field an indirectly elected and unpopular incumbent in Vice President Harris.

The sole instance of an incumbent being replaced by a candidate of the same party is James Buchanan, who won the 1856 elections replacing Franklin Pierce. While he did not have a particularly glorious presidency, and while the circumstances are difficult to compare, his case shows that it can be electorally favorable to switch candidates. Biden ran a moderate campaign without compromising on more progressive policy promises, but his age is now weighing down his electoral might. Trump is only three years younger, but he’s been much more successful at convincing the public of his physical and mental fitness. On the other hand, Biden has been racking up gaffes, and the public now sees his age as a “liability” while recent opinion polls show Trump outpacing Biden in several key swing states. To avoid losing the electorate, Democrats must act now by choosing a younger candidate who can carefully straddle the line between centrism to attract swing voters and Biden’s progressivism to attract younger electors. Enter Arizona Senator Mark Kelly.

Mark Kelly’s background makes him particularly fit for a presidential run. He is a 59-year-old Navy veteran, a retired NASA astronaut, and an aeronautical engineer by formation—a particularly compelling combination that  few career politicians can rival. 

First, Kelly could campaign on a strong pro-education stance. In his tenure as an Arizona Senator, he has recognized the value of high-quality public higher-learning institutions at an affordable cost and vows to continue supporting and funding public schools. He’s proven his dedication to the issue, notably by introducing a “Bipartisan Bill to Support STEM Education.” His NASA background also means he can be trusted to continue encouraging federal innovation efforts, such as the CHIPS Act, which seeks to fund and encourage domestic semiconductor production, and other efforts to maintain the United States at the forefront of scientific and engineering developments.

Moreover, Kelly’s military background legitimizes the control he would exert over the Department of Defense if he were to enter the White House. He sits on the Senate Emerging Threats Committee and the Committee on Intelligence, meaning he is already entrusted with critical intelligence and responsibilities. He can thus prove himself more reassuring and responsible than the notoriously impulsive Trump and his penchant for oversharing and intelligence misuse. 

Mark Kelly is also great at winning elections: he defeated a GOP incumbent in a special election in 2020 and held his seat against a Trump-aligned candidate in the 2022 midterm elections. This victory further cemented Arizona’s shift away from a red state to a Democratic-leaning constituency. This is particularly noteworthy as he was competing for the late GOP Senator John McCain’s former seat which he had held for about 30 years. In a show of bipartisanship that endeared Kelly to the so-called “McCain Republicans” disenchanted by former President Trump’s fiery rhetoric, McCain’s widow refrained from endorsing Kelly’s opponent in 2020. This implicit endorsement is a testament to Kelly’s demonstrated moderation and capacity to attract key swing voters to his cause.

Furthermore, Kelly’s wife, former Rep. Gabby Gifford, survived a gunshot to the head in an assassination attempt. Her ordeal personally ties Kelly to the question of gun violence and arms control make him uniquely well-placed to campaign for gun control. The couple has since set up a political action committee that fundraises for candidates in favor of gun control legislation, but as president, Kelly could be even more effective in his fight to regulate firearms. Gun lobbies have killed any attempt to resurrect the Clinton Administration’s federal weapons ban, but Kelly’s painful personal experience would make him much more difficult to lobby against. Former Rep. Gifford is a real asset to Mark Kelly’s policy platform, especially on such a controversial topic. But the senator has proven himself capable of moderating his stances on other issues, and he could likely reach a compromise across the aisle.

Indeed, Kelly’s careful bipartisan stance is clear in his approach towards immigration. On one hand, as the senator of a border state, Kelly denounced President Biden’s decision to repeal Title 42, an ordinance allowing the government to more easily expel undocumented immigrants on public health grounds. Kelly criticized Washington’s response to the border crisis, vowing to do more to control illegal immigration and defend Arizona’s interests. On the other hand, he promised to protect DACA, a policy that safeguards the rights of immigrants brought into America as children to remain in the country, threading a carefully between right and left-wing policy without swinging too far in either direction. In a similar show of bipartisan support, Kelly recently addressed the ongoing crisis in the Middle East by first visiting Israel as part of the bipartisan Senate delegation to offer American support and later signing a joint statement calling for an end to the siege and the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. This highlights how Kelly’s moral compass is what guides him in navigating thorny subjects. He’s more committed to his values rather than his political appartenance, and this allows him a rare level of flexibility and adaptation. 

The Democrats’ choice go with a Biden candidacy and their reluctance to push for a renewal of their leadership is concerning. With the House GOP in disarray and the next few elections looking more and more like a Blue victory, the current political climate is fertile ground for a Kelly presidential run. Partisanship is at an all-time high in the country, and in a campaign where Trump’s potential reelection is scary to many, a subtle and balanced candidate can continue being a positive shift on the country’s political culture. Biden commendably doused water on the MAGA fire, but it will take a new leader to rebuild.

Makram Bekdache is a junior in SEAS, studying computer engineering. Makram is passionate about misunderstood and poorly discussed topics in international politics, and making sure everyone knows where Lebanon lies on a map. Makram can be reached at mb5043@columbia.edu.