The America Rising PAC (ARPAC), a group dedicated to exposing the truth about Democrats, recently shared critical information regarding current Senator Mark Kelly (D) for Arizonans to know before the General Election in November.
“Contrary to his rhetoric on the campaign trail, Mark Kelly has been nothing but a rubber stamp for Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer’s devastating agenda,” shared ARPAC Press Secretary Whitney Robertson with The Arizona Sun Times via email. “If Arizonans are looking for a Senator who will actually put the people over politics, it’s time to send Kelly packing.”
With the recent victory of Trump-endorsed Blake Masters in the Arizona primary election, his battle for the senate seat is only halfway over. Masters needs to beat Democratic incumbent Kelly in November to secure the seat.
The ARPAC shared four of Kelly’s”vulnerabilities” that voters should be aware of when it becomes time to decide who Arizona’s next senator will be.
The first was a “dodgy campaign” held leading up to his election in 2020. The  Intercept reported that Kelly’s campaign dodged questions regarding his stance on big-ticket Democratic issues, such as the Green New Deal and Medicare for all in 2019. He also said his campaign would take “no corporate PAC money,” although he had and was giving paid speeches to corporate clients at the time. Kelly’s spokesperson said these speeches were presented more as a “former astronaut” than a politician. Kelly eventually gave a more concrete stance on these Democrat issues.
Another part of Kelly’s campaign was his pledge to be a nonpartisan, independent for Arizona.
“My goal here is to, if elected, I’m going to stand up for Arizona in a nonpartisan, nonpolitical, and independent way,” said Kelly in an interview on PBS Arizona.
However, the ARPAC shared that this may not be who he turned out to be, calling Kelly a “rubber-stamp Democrat” in an “Independent’s” clothing.
FiveThirtyEight shared that Kelly has voted with President Joe Biden 94% of the time.
In an ad titled “Tough Choices,” Kelly touted he was looking for solutions to inflation, “even if that means taking on my own party.” Solutions he presented included removing the gas tax and lowering gas prices by allowing domestic oil production. According to Fox News, Kelly and Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) sent a letter to Biden, pressing him to drill oil in the Gulf of Mexico to ease America’s pain at the pump. However, ARPAC argued that getting rid of the gas tax is not “taking on my own party,” as his proposed bill, S.3609, is cosponsored by six other Democrats. The Biden administration also called on Congress to lift the gas tax.
Moreover, Kelly’s bill to remove the gas tax may cause more harm if enacted.
As reported by The Sun Times, while getting rid of the gas tax could lower prices, it is that act that may increase prices. The issue at hand is that there is more demand than supply can account for, and if gas prices are lowered, demand could increase further, making it harder for supply.
Steven Ratter, an Obama-era economist, called the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan the “original sin” that drove inflation by pumping stimulus checks into the nation. AZ Family reported that the Phoenix area had seen some of the worst inflation in the country. Kelly voted in favor of the plan.
On a different note, Kelly may have ties to China. According to RealClear Politics, a company Kelly co-founded, World View Enterprises, had received donations from the tech giant Tencent, a Chinese company with alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
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Neil Jones is a reporter for The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Neil on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
