WASHINGTON – After essentially being forced to play his hand, U.S. Senator Mark Kelly (D-Arizona) says he supports abolishing the filibuster to require a simple majority to try to pass voting rights legislation.
Kelly, who is up for re-election this year, issued a statement January 19 on the issue. Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona’s other senator, and West Virginia’s Joe Manchin have been the two Democrats who have been steadfast in their refusal to change the filibuster rules, which requires 60 votes rather than a simple majority. It was created to protect against the Senate swinging from one extreme to the other with one vote.
Kelly is one of the last senators to announce his position on the filibuster rules change.
Sinema
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“My year in the Senate has shown me how dysfunctional this place can be, and how that prevents progress on issues that matter to Arizonans,” Kelly said. “We’re seeing that now, as voting rights legislation remains blocked while partisan politicians work to undermine Arizona’s successful vote-by-mail system and create more barriers to vote. …
“If campaign finance and voting rights reforms are blocked again this week, I will support the proposed changes to pass them with a majority vote. Protecting the vote-by-mail system used by a majority of Arizonans and getting dark money out of our elections is too important to let fall victim to Washington dysfunction.”
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, who is running as a Republican for Kelly's seat, said Kelly's decision proves "he wants to change the rules to ensure that Arizonans no longer have a say in how our elections are run."
"Senator Kelly is validating what we've been saying all along – he is a puppet of the progressive left, wrapped up in the grandeur of the Senate instead of protecting the sovereignty of his state and serving the people who elected him," Brnovich said in a campaign press release. "When push comes to shove, we are seeing Mark Kelly stand with Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi on this fundamental issue."
Brnovich says Kelly's words are hollow.
"He ironically claims to be 'standing up to party politics' in an action that is nothing but a bend to the political goals of his party despite opposition from Arizonans – and his seatmate," Brnovich said. "If Mark Kelly supports something as radical as handing over Arizona's elections, what else does he support and isn't telling us?"
Another Republican vying for Kelly's seat agreed.
“Once again Mark Kelly is putting Biden’s divisive agenda and radical election power grab before what’s best for Arizona’s election integrity protections, including watering down Voter ID requirements, putting ballots at risk with insecure drop boxes and forcing same-day voter registration – all of which will lead to more voter fraud," Jim Lamon told The Record. "Kelly lied to Arizonans when he said he would represent the people of Arizona in the Senate. Instead, he’s voted in lockstep with the far-left Biden/Schumer agenda 100 percent of the time."
A Republican running for governor in Arizona also had harsh words for Kelly.
“Mark Kelly proved to Arizona once again that he’s nothing more than a Chuck Schumer puppet in Arizona and will vote with the far left every single time," Kari Lake told The Record. "Arizonans are starting to realize he’s not the centrist he claimed to be. By voting to strip away the filibuster and pass a bill to nationalize elections, it’s obvious he’s scared that he’ll lose in a November unless the Democrats can rig another election.
"I expect one of our great Republican candidates to win that seat handily.”
If Kelly had chosen to oppose this so-called “nuclear option,” the Navy veteran and former astronaut would have been at odds with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and likely would have faced a challenge in the primary election.
Schumer has forced Kelly and other senators to take a side as he is forcing a vote on the filibuster rules that seems unlikely to pass.
“As an astronaut and a combat veteran, I can tell you that if NASA or the Navy functioned like the United States Senate, we would never get the rocket off the launchpad and in combat we’d never complete the mission,” he said. “Arizonans deserve a Senate that is more responsive to the challenges facing our country, which is why I’ve spoken with Arizonans and my Republican and Democratic colleagues about their views on what can be done to make this place work better.
“I’ve considered what rules changes would mean not just today, but years down the road, for both parties and all Arizonans.”
Kelly is a cosponsor of both the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
“Whether the Senate fails or succeeds in passing this legislation, I will continue doing this job just as I promised Arizonans: delivering results by working with Republicans and Democrats to find common ground as we have on infrastructure, standing up to party politics, and staying focused on doing what is best for Arizona,” he said.
As recently as Tuesday, Kelly refused to say where he stood on the filibuster.
“I will make a decision on what’s in the best interest for Arizona, folks that live here and the folks across our country,” he said Tuesday.