Mark Kelly Opens Up on His Role in the Senate and Life with Wife Gabby Giffords

The former astronaut and retired U.S. Navy captain was elected in 2020 to fill the Arizona Senate seat once held by John McCain

Mark Kelly's first trip abroad as a U.S. senator focused largely on national security amid Russia's continued invasion of Ukraine — but for the Democrat, former astronaut and retired U.S. Navy captain, the trip was also deeply personal.

The first stop on the nine-day tour of Europe and Asia, which Kelly took along with other congressional leaders, was to Poland to meet with Arizona service members, Ukrainian refugees, foreign leaders and American embassy staff.

"We met with the 82nd Airborne which, for me was good for a number of reasons: For one, we got a brief about what is actually happening in Ukraine," Kelly, 58, said in a recent interview. "I served for 25 years, so I'm pretty familiar — having been somebody who flew airplanes in combat."

He continues: "It was mostly about national security, but the other thing that was kind of a big deal to me is that my dad served in the 82nd Airborne before I was born."

Speaking to PEOPLE via Zoom, Kelly holds up a black-and-white photo he displays in his office, showing his dad parachuting from the sky. 

"He was a paratrooper," Kelly says. "I always tell people, when I see the patch, I tell them, 'Hey my dad was in the 82nd.' "

Kelly — who is currently running for re-election in a closely watched Arizona race that could help decide the balance of power in Congress — says his international trip also allowed him to connect with service members who are assisting Ukraine in an attack that, so far, has no end.

Back home in Arizona and at his office in Washington, D.C., Kelly has other areas of focus.

He ties that into his pitch to voters, including backing new limits on lawmakers making stock trades.

"I'm the only person in Congress, of 535 members ... that has a qualified blind trust, public schedule and did not take corporate [political action committee] money. These are three things that I think are really important, in order to be transparent and ethical and at the same time not allow yourself to be … influenced," Kelly says.

While he acknowledges that banning lawmakers from making stock trades is popular, he says it's not something he hears about from his constituents. The legislation, he says, is more about doing what's right.

Nobody came to me and said, 'This is a good idea.' It's not something people are focused on. They are more focused on the cost of things, which has been going up."

He continues: "But we shouldn't just be doing things because we hear folks in our communities talk about them. We also need to look for opportunities to do the right thing."

Doing the "right thing" — rather than jut what's popular or what might most resonate with voters — has long been on Kelly's priority list, he says.