In a story unique to this race, you might remember that three other, former astronauts have already given the GOP’s McSally their support during the general election cycle.[see: Ouch! Three Astronauts Endorse AZ’s GOP Senator Over Her Astronaut Senate Challenger]. It has to cut deeply for the leftist, Democrat campaign, as Kelly is himself a former astronaut. But more recently, he has become more well-known as a gun grabber wannabe and a lover of some sweet, sweet Chinese Communist Party cash.
But the ‘booster rocket’ for this closely-watched, swing-state Senate race is out of this world—literally. McSally can now count former astronaut and genuine “American hero,” Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin, Jr. as a member of her “team.”.
It all started on Saturday, when the space-race icon wrote on his Twitter account:
Martha, check six – Mark? Buzz – over 100 jet hours in Arizona.
12 o’clock is straight ahead. 6 o’clock is behind. Fighter pilots understand what “check six” means in FTR lingo talk. Martha, wave as you move ahead past Mark, to 12 o’clock, and you win for Arizona!
In response, the McSally campaign wrote:
Absolute honor to have the support of hero astronaut Buzz Aldrin in this mission! We must hold this seat, the Senate, and save the country. It’s a dog fight, and as we fighter pilots say: Fight’s On!
One commenter pointed out that the endorsements from the astronauts have been, equally, a “rejection” of Mark Kelly:
Of course, Aldrin isn’t just any other astronaut… after the late Ohio Sen. John Glenn (R) and Neil Armstrong, you won’t find a more iconic name in U.S. space exploration. Most Americans know Aldrin as one of the few men alive who can boast they’ve landed on the Moon (there are three others still living) — Armstrong, of course, was the other astronaut to do so on the historic Apollo 11 mission in 1969.
And there are only a few badass folks in the same league still kickin’ around — you may have missed this piece back in the spring on one such dude—the amazing Chuck Yeager. These guys (and gals) have earned the right to, well, not give a hoot what anyone else thinks of them.
Also notable, for Arizonans who still might be deciding whom to throw their support behind, is this second, new endorsement, in video form, which McSally’s camp unveiled Sunday: former Sen. Jon Kyl, the Arizona senator emeritus who provided a “cushion” in late 2018, immediately after McCain’s passing, before McSally was placed in the seat by Gov. Ducey:
In a related story, NASA has announced it will share “an exciting, new discovery” about Earth’s moon at noon ET on Monday, as Fox News reported Friday, that relates to “support for deep space exploration” in the future.
UPDATE: Another possible ‘boost’ to McSally and other down-ticket, GOP candidates, in the closing weeks of the campaign: Pres. Trump, who just held rallies across Arizona (South and North) last week, in Tucson and Prescott, respectively, on October 19, returns to South-Central AZ, with a rally in Goodyear Wednesday, according to the 2020 Trump-Pence campaign website.
UPDATE 2.0: Oh, and are Arizonans revved up for the election? This has been going on, all over the Phoenix Valley this weekend… I happened to catch a two-hour “parade” on the main drag of Mesa Saturday afternoon.
And this video of an at least eight-mile-long, “Trump train” of cars/trucks Sunday is courtesy of Arizona Republic contributor and editor in chief of Ricochet, Jon Gabriel: