Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, one of the top contenders to be Kamala Harris’ running mate, fueled intrigue around the Democratic Party veepstakes with a quickly deleted post Sunday.
“My background is a bit different than most politicians,” Kelly wrote in a statement on X that has since been removed. “I spent my life serving in the Navy and at NASA, where the mission always comes first. Now, my mission is serving Arizonans.”
Kelly later posted another message that did not indicate a focus on Arizona specifically.
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“Whether it was from my time in the Navy and at NASA, serving in the United States Senate, or visiting our troops overseas: I’ve learned that when your country asks you to serve, you always answer the call,” the tweet read. The second post remains visible on Kelly’s X account as of Monday morning.
Amid frenzied speculation that Kelly’s first post indicated that he was no longer in the running to be Harris’ VP pick, Kelly’s spokesman Jacob Peters said it was deleted because it was being misunderstood, according to The New York Times. “An Arizona senator tweeting about being an Arizona senator is not news!” Peters wrote in his own X post in response to the intrigue. “Go back to your Sundays everybody!”
The disappearing tweet furor came after Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker sparked a similar frenzy on Friday by posting a video that urged voters to support “Harris for president” and Pennsylvania Gov. “Josh Shapiro for vice president.”
A source close to Parker told The Philadelphia Inquirer that the clip was “not an announcement of anything” and that she was just “showing her support for a longtime friend who we know is one of the people being considered” for Harris’ running mate.
With her search for a VP in its final stages, Harris interviewed Kelly, Shapiro, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz at her Naval Observatory residence on Sunday, sources told Reuters. Harris is now expected to unveil her running mate any time before her first public appearance with her pick in Philadelphia on Tuesday, according to the news agency.
Harris’ campaign said early Monday that the vice president and her running mate will then embark on a tour across key battleground states.
