An Arizona Democrat is cashing in on a high-profile feud with the Trump administration as he floats a possible 2028 presidential run.
Sen. Mark Kelly raised about $12.9 million in the first three months of 2026, according to campaign finance reports. It brings his campaign war chest to a whopping $22.3 million despite not facing reelection to the Senate until 2028.
Kelly, a former naval pilot and astronaut, saw his star rise in November after he and other Democrats with military backgrounds took part in a video urging soldiers to refuse illegal orders as the Trump administration sank alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and deployed National Guard units to American cities. Soon after, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attempted to demote Kelly and federal prosecutors tried to indict Kelly and other video participants.
While those efforts have been unsuccessful, Kelly’s battle with Trump officials was a payday for his campaign, which raised almost $12.5 million between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31.
Over two-thirds of that haul came from people giving under $200, whose individual donation data is not recorded by the Federal Elections Commission. But of the over $3.5 million Kelly received from larger donors, about $3 million came after Nov. 18, the day the “illegal orders” video was published.
For reference, Kelly raised about $2.6 million between July and September of last year and Nevada senator Catherine Cortez Masto — another Southwestern swing-state Democrat up for reelection in 2028 — raised just under $1.5 million over all of 2025.
Kelly is using his funds to support Democrats in the 2026 midterms, both at the state and national level. A spokesman for his campaign said Kelly has given $25,000 to the Arizona Democratic Party's state legislative arm this year as well as raising $1.1 million for the Democratic National Committee. He’s also used campaign funds to help Senate candidates in Alaska, Texas, Ohio and North Carolina, all seen as possible pickups for Democrats.
“Mark knows that flipping Congress in November is how we hold Trump accountable and that’s why he is campaigning in battleground states and supporting candidates with the resources to help them win tough elections,” campaign spokesman Jacob Peters wrote to AZPM.
Still, the vast majority of Kelly’s haul sits in his campaign coffers, which have more than doubled in size since September, from under $9 million to over $22 million.
The senator, who has carved out a bipartisan national security lane in Congress, has floated a possible presidential campaign in 2028. Most recently, he said he was “undecided” on the matter. Earlier this year, he said he would “seriously consider” running for president.
