Grand Canyon Times

Ben Petersen, the Republican National Committee communications director for Arizona, criticized U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) for his voting record, blaming inflation on businesses and for Kelly's commitment to Biden and the Democrat Party. 

"Democrat Mark Kelly’s 'independence' is a sick joke," Peterson said in a Twitter post. "Kelly votes with Schumer 96% & Biden 94%. Kelly blames inflation on businesses’ 'greed,' not his & Biden’s reckless spending. Kelly could not name a SINGLE time he extracted a concession from Biden/Democrat Party."

According to the Arizona Republic, Kelly's record shows he often votes in line with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and that Kelly continues to reinforce being a moderate, but his voting records say the opposite. 

Ronald J. Hansen, writing for the Arizona Republic, reveals what Kelly said in an interview: "Kelly blamed rising prices on gouging by the oil and gas industry and not on Democrat-led government spending he has supported, and he defended his decision to scrap the legislative filibuster for voting rights while leaving unclear what other exceptions he might consider."                   

Hansen writes that Kelly is attempting to maintain his moderation in Washington, which may be the reason he wins in November. While voting with Schumer 96% of the time, Hansen notes Kelly has voted with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell 35% of the time. Kelly said in an interview, "I’m consistently ranked one of the most moderate senators in the U.S. Senate" in the interview.  

Moderation means sponsoring the CHIPS Act, which will bring semiconductor production to the nation, and passing veteran health care bills, according to Hansen. Hansen cites Kelly's record, saying the senator pushed against the Biden administration's attempt to end Title 42, which prevents illegal immigrants from entering the U.S. for health reasons, enacted by the Trump administration during the pandemic. 

Hansen writes that "Kelly will waive filibuster if necessary," pointing to his vote to dissolve the filibuster on the issue of voting rights. “It’s always going to depend on what the specific text of the legislation is for the issue we're trying to solve," Kelly said about his position on the filibuster.   

Kelly supports abortion rights and criticizes his opponent for his support of a national abortion ban.  

"Here's one issue where there's a fundamental difference between me and my opponent, who has called abortion demonic, a religious sacrifice, and wants a national abortion ban, and wants to criminalize this incredibly hard decision and even criminalize it for doctors as well,” Kelly said.

Hansen reports that Kelly's Republican opponent Blake Masters did not refer to the procedure in those terms, but called supporters of abortion "demonic." Masters said, “It is indeed a criminal behavior to kill a child that could survive outside the womb —  he (Kelly) would rather adhere to the radical far left of his party.”                  

Commenting on the record level of inflation, Kelly blamed corporations for their "greed" in raising prices and praised Biden's American Rescue Plan for helping struggling Arizonians. He voted for the Inflation Reduction Act along with fellow Democrat senators. According to Smart Asset, economists say inflation is largely tied to increased federal government spending.