It appears The Hill has found another name to toss into the Democrats’ 2028 presidential circus, and this time it’s astronaut-turned-senator Mark Kelly. With the Democratic Party looking increasingly like it’s holding auditions for the Socialist Party of America, along comes a glowing article about Kelly’s White House prospects.

He’s traveling the country, raising money, and collecting compliments from Democratic strategists who seem quite impressed with him. He hasn’t even decided whether he’s running, but the presidential buzz is already underway.

From The Hill –

Kelly, who was on former Vice President Kamala Harris’s short list of possible running mates in 2024, seems poised to take a prominent role in the 2028 Democratic presidential primary.

“I think he’ll be an incredibly formidable candidate for president if he decides to run. He has the temperament, the background, the experience and the proven ability to win states in a battleground state — not to mention his incredible relationship with his wife who has been through so much,” said Tad Devine, a Democratic strategist who worked on Al Gore’s 2000 presidential campaign, former Sen. John Kerry’s (D-Mass.) 2004 presidential campaign and Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vt.) 2016 presidential campaign.

Temperament? Now there’s an interesting choice of words. We’re talking about the same Mark Kelly who found himself in a very public showdown with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after joining several other Democrats in a video urging military personnel to refuse illegal orders. Hegseth censured Kelly and sought to reduce his retired military rank and pension, only to have a federal judge block the disciplinary action. The whole affair turned into a national political spectacle, and The Hill acknowledges that it helped raise Kelly’s profile among Democratic voters and donors.

Impressive Resume, Questionable Politics

Kelly’s Navy service and NASA career might deserve some respect. But his politics, however, are another matter entirely. And if The Hill is going to start talking about putting this man in the White House, perhaps we ought to spend a little less time admiring his astronaut credentials and a little more time looking at what he’s actually supported in Washington.

For starters, in January 2025, Kelly voted against advancing legislation that would have established specific medical-care requirements for babies born alive after attempted abortions.

Then there’s Ukraine. Hey, Big Spender. Kelly has been a consistent supporter of continued American military assistance, including the 2024 foreign-aid package. He’s made his position quite clear about sending more weapons and ammunition.

Democrat Senator Mark Kelly: “We’re going to lower costs for the American people.”

CBS: “How?”

Democrat Senator Mark Kelly: “I’ve got legislation that raises taxes…” https://t.co/Fabrx3kScf

— TheBlaze (@theblaze) October 4, 2026

And then there’s gun control. Kelly isn’t just pushing for better background checks. He helped introduce the GOSAFE Act, which would ban the sale of certain semi-automatic guns and restrict high-capacity magazines. He says it’s about gun safety, but when it comes to the Second Amendment, I’m a firm believer in the old saying: Give them an inch, and they’ll take a mile.

Those are the sorts of things I’d rather hear about when someone starts floating a senator’s name for president. The astronaut stories are interesting, but they don’t tell us nearly enough about the politician.

Look In The Mirror, Mark

In a recent interview, Kelly complained that Trump has never tried to bring Americans together and accused him of creating an “us against them” atmosphere. Really? Has Kelly listened to the bile coming from his own party? Democrats have spent years accusing Republicans of being a threat to democracy, yet Kelly wants to lecture Trump about political division.

Once upon a time, Mark Kelly might have been one of those Democrats you could actually reach across the aisle and work with. But these days, he seems to have come down with a serious case of Trump Derangement Syndrome, with a side of Pete Hegseth envy.

And there’s the Democrats’ bigger problem. They’re trying to convince Americans they haven’t completely lost their minds while people like AOC, Zohran Mamdani, Abdul El-Sayed, and Hasan Piker keep pulling the conversation further left. And let’s not forget Kamala Harris, who apparently hasn’t gotten the message that voters already rejected her once. So where does Mark Kelly fit into this mess? Is he supposed to be the reasonable Democrat who comes along and cleans up the party’s image? Because putting an astronaut at the top of the ticket doesn’t magically fix what’s happening down here on Earth.

Feature Image: Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons