Mark Kelly: Who is Gabby Gifford husband?
John Parsons
Published Feb 22, 2026
Mark Edward Kelly is an American retired astronaut, U.S. Navy captain, businessman, and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Arizona since 2020.
A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected in the special election following the death of Senator John McCain, defeating incumbent Republican Martha McSally.
Kelly flew combat missions during the Gulf War as a naval aviator before being selected as a NASA Space Shuttle pilot in 1996. Kelly announced his candidacy for Arizona’s Class 3 U.S. Senate seat in the 2020 special election on February 12, 2019.
He won the Democratic primary on August 4, 2020, and defeated incumbent Republican Martha McSally in the November 3, 2020, general election, becoming the first Democrat to win this seat since 1962. Kelly was sworn in on December 2, 2020.
Kelly is seeking reelection to a full term in the 2022 United States Senate election in Arizona against Republican Blake Masters.
Kelly married Amelia Victoria Babis on January 7, 1989. They divorced in 2004. They have two daughters, Claudia and Claire Kelly. Claudia Kelly is the eldest child in the family.
Kelly married U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords of Tucson, Arizona, on November 10, 2007, in a ceremony presided over by Rabbi Stephanie Aaron, and attended by his STS-124 shuttle crew and former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich.
