Democratic senator says that Arizona GOP has ‘dangerous ideas’

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) said on Sunday that members of his state’s Republican Party have “dangerous ideas.”

On CNN’s “State of the Union,” anchor Jake Tapper asked Kelly about his thoughts on the state’s GOP with regard to candidates running for office who have denied that President Biden was legitimately elected or suggested that their political opponents be jailed.

“Well, unfortunately, I think right now that the folks you mentioned have some really dangerous ideas, and they’re not consistent with most Arizonans, even most Republicans in Arizona,” Kelly told Tapper. 

“So I’m hoping we can move away from that. My Republican colleagues that I talk to in the United States Senate, I mean, these are good, good people, by and large, who are working really hard,” Kelly added. “And they don’t need those dangerous ideas in the United States Senate.”

Kelly’s remarks come after a new Fox News poll showed that the lawmaker has an 8-point lead over his Trump-backed challenger in his state’s Senate race. Fifty percent of respondents said they support Kelly, while 42 percent said they back Masters. 

Kelly also said that he’ll welcome Biden to campaign for him during this election cycle, notably not distancing himself from the president as some other Democrats have.

“Hey, I will welcome anybody that come to Arizona, travel around the state at any time, as long as I’m here, if I’m not up in Washington in session, and talk about what Arizona needs,” Kelly said. “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 will be here,” Kelly said.