Sen. Mark Kelly update: ‘anti-Trump’ 2028 presidential candidate or Senate reelection

The most contentious, expensive, dramatic, vitriolic, polarized, and gerrymandered midterm election in U.S. history peaks on Nov. 3, a campaign cycle in which President Trump repeatedly asked voters to “pretend” he was on the ballot.

Thus, Trump risks a personal rebuke if Democrats win control of the House and Senate and he deems the results of selected races fraudulent, rigged or stolen from Republicans. Such a scenario could trigger a constitutional crisis if the president authorizes aggressive federal action that Team Trump has loosely threatened throughout 2026.

Strangely, last Saturday, Trump sent an awkward fundraising email pleading, “Do not make me say goodbye.” Perhaps it was a smoke signal testing an early exit before Jan. 20, 2029? Furthermore, Trump officially becomes a “lame duck” on Nov. 4, the kick-off for the 2028 presidential campaign, which will make this nasty midterm election look like child’s play.

Although Vice President JD Vance has the edge for the Republican nomination, “when” or “if” Trump endorses him remains the wild card. Recently, on the campaign trail, Vance suffered a self-inflicted wound while defending a vile ad that could permanently haunt his standing with women voters.

Democrats have a deeper primary bench with no clear frontrunner. As a former Republican, my preferred candidate is Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), who has 3 percent primary support. He is the anti-Trump candidate, opposite in personality and style for what is likely to be a pendulum-swing election. Kelly appears well suited for the post-Trump era, when America faces its most challenging domestic and foreign threats since the 1930s.

Exactly a year ago,........

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