No Congress run for former naval officer Kelly

Retired Navy Capt. Mark Kelly said Friday he will not run for the congressional seat previously held by his wife, Gabrielle Giffords, and vows she will someday return to public service in some capacity.

Kelly recounted in an interview with CNN that Giffords, who formally stepped down Wednesday, concluded on her own to resign from the Arizona seat she was first elected to in 2006 so she can focus on her recovery.

Giffords, a Democrat, was shot in the head on Jan. 8, 2011, in a rampage near Tucson, Ariz., that left six people dead. Her story — from the shooting through months of rehab and now her resignation from Congress — has been an emotional one that at times has gripped the nation.

Kelly, a former astronaut, says he understands that it’s common for congressional spouses to run for and win House seats. But “that would not be me,” he said on CNN. “I’m not running. My job right now is to make sure Gabby has everything she needs.”

Kelly said Giffords concluded in the past six weeks or so that she wouldn’t be well enough to run for a fourth term this year or return to her job in Congress. It was “100 percent her decision” to resign, he said.

Kelly also said that his wife — known for her optimism and sunny disposition — sometimes gets “a little sad, a little frustrated” as she works long hours at a rehabilitation facility in Houston. But those moments, he says, don’t last long.

“Her goal is to recover to the point where she can get back to public service,” he says.