Who is running for US Senate seat in Arizona? What to know about Mark Kelly, Blake Masters

Democrat Mark Kelly and Republican Blake Masters are facing off in this year's election for one of Arizona's two U.S. Senate seats.

The Senate is the upper chamber of the two houses of Congress. Two senators are elected from each state for six-year terms. Kelly, the incumbent senator, holds the seat in Arizona after defeating Republican Martha McSally in 2020 after the death of veteran six-term Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. 

Senators are responsible for enacting legislation and declaring war. They have the power to conduct impeachment trials for high federal officials and confirm presidential nominations, such as Supreme Court justices, Cabinet secretaries and ambassadors.

The general election is Nov. 8, 2022.

Here is a primer on the two major party candidates who are running for the U.S Senate in Arizona:

What to know about Mark Kelly

Kelly, 58, was a NASA astronaut before announcing his entry into politics in February 2019. He defeated McSally for the Senate seat in 2020 after McCain's death in 2018.

Kelly supports Social Security and Medicare, reduction of tax breaks for the wealthy, help with student debt through lower interest rates and increased teacher pay. He also supports Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). This program qualifies undocumented migrants who came into the U.S. as children for a work permit and a renewable two-year deferral from deportation. 

Kelly wants to strengthen border security with increased patrol and physical barriers. 

In 2011, former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords — Kelly’s wife — was almost killed in an assassination attempt near Tucson. Kelly and Giffords subsequently co-founded Giffords, an advocacy organization that campaigns for gun safety. 

What to know about Blake Masters

Blake Masters, 36, is a former venture capitalist who was on the executive board of the Thiel Foundation, a firm that invests in new technology companies, until March 2022. In August, he won Arizona's Republican Senate primary against state Attorney General Mark Brnovich, businessman Jim Lamon and two other candidates. 

“There’s a youthness and a freshness, fresh perspective that we really badly need, and that’s what I bring to the table,” Masters said to The Arizona Republic in an interview.

Masters wants to use high-tech gadgets to surveil the border, increase Border Patrol and finish building the wall to increase border security. According to his campaign website, he wants to crack down on crime, increase military support, opposes teacher unions, promote alternatives to college, control immigration based on merit and increase nuclear power, among other things.

He also wants to remove funding that goes toward abortions and increase support for pregnant women. Masters initially called for the overturning Roe v. Wade but changed his stance after the August primary to being "OK" with banning abortion after 15 weeks. 

Reach the reporter at TChristopher@gannett.com