Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly dodges question about campaign help from President Biden
Sen. Mark Kelly appears to dodge a question about President Biden coming to help campaign for him in Arizona on Sunday during CNN's "State of the Union."
Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., appeared to dodge a question about President Biden joining him in Arizona to campaign against his Republican opponent Blake Masters on Sunday during an appearance on CNN's "State of the Union."
"Would you want President Biden to come to Arizona and campaign with you?" host Jake Tapper asked. Kelly's opponent, Masters, is backed by former president Donald Trump.
"Hey, I’ll welcome anybody to come to Arizona, you know travel around the state at any time, as long as I’m here," he said. "You know, If I’m not up in Washington in session. And talk about what Arizona needs. This water situation is significant. And right now we have some of the tools necessary to deal with it. I’m trying to get some answers from the Department of Interior on more – like what authority do they have to make some decisions themselves on this because, as I said earlier, the other states are not stepping up to help Arizona deal with this. But if anybody wants to come to Arizona and talk about Arizona issues or issues that affect the country, I’ll be here."
Tapper followed up and noted that the senator's response didn't appear to be an open invitation for the president to come campaign with him.
"Do you have concerns about whether President Biden is the best candidate to keep Arizona blue in 2024?" he asked.
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Sen. Mark Kelly joined CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday's "State of the Union." (Screenshot/CNN/StateOfTheUnion)
"Not at all, Jake," Kelly said.
Several Democrats have not been as quick to dismiss concerns about Biden running in 2024. A recent Fox News poll found that Kelly holds an 8-point lead over Masters in the Senate race.
Masters was the front-runner in the crowded Republican primary election. He defeated businessman Jim Lamon, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Mick McGuire, and Arizona public utilities commission member Justin Olson.
Kelly also discussed the drought and water cuts in Arizona and Nevada that will limit how much Colorado River water the state can use. Tapper said that the Biden administration has "largely left this issue to the states," calling the drought an "existential crisis." He asked if the administration was being too passive in its response.
A buoy sits high and dry on cracked earth previously under the waters of Lake Mead at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area near Boulder City, Nev., on June 28, 2022. (AP Photo/John Locher) (AP Photo/John Locher)
"Well, first first of all, it's not existential. We've got solutions. I was able to add $8 billion into the bipartisan infrastructure bill for more water storage and resiliency and settling tribal water claims more recently in the Inflation Reduction Act, $4 billion to deal with this drought. So we do have the tools in place. What we don't have is the partnership right now with other states," Kelly responded.
The Inflation Reduction Act includes $4 billion in funding for water management and conservation efforts aimed at the Colorado River basin and other regions of the U.S. experiencing droughts.
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) speaks during a press conference following the weekly Democratic caucus policy luncheon on February 08, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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"Every sector in every state has a responsibility to ensure that water is used with maximum efficiency. In order to avoid a catastrophic collapse of the Colorado River System and a future of uncertainty and conflict, water use in the Basin must be reduced," Tanya Trujillo, assistant secretary for water and science at the Department of Interior, said in a statement regarding the cuts.