Kelly, who is a retired NASA astronaut and former Navy captain, joked about the physiological changes experienced by his twin brother, who is also an astronaut, after spending a year in space.
During the question-and-answer portion of an event with the Boy Scouts of America’s Northern New Jersey Council, Kelly was asked if he thought if Mars would ever become colonized, The Arizona Republic reported.
Kelly began his answer by telling the crowd that his twin brother, Scott, was sent to the space station for a year so scientists could gain more human physiology data in preparation for sending astronauts to Mars. Upon his return, Scott Kelly’s DNA had apparently been altered by either radiation or zero-gravity.
“I think the word hasn’t gotten out how bad it is for him,” Kelly said. “You know, it’s gotten so bad that we recently had to release him back into the wild,” he joked to the laughing crowd.
Kelly went on to liken his twin brother to a monkey.
“He’s like halfway between, like, an orangutan and a howler monkey. We’ve even changed his name to Rodrigo,” Kelly said. “He lives in the woods. He lives in Eagle Rock Reservation,” a reference to a forest reserve and recreational park in New Jersey.
Asked by the Republic about his comments, Kelly offered an apology. “My brother’s year in space was really hard on him and we tried to bring some light to his difficult ordeal, but this comment does not do that and I apologize and deeply regret it,” he said.
The Senate candidate’s comments resurfaced on Twitter Thursday after Moses Sanchez, a Republican businessman and Navy veteran who lost the race for Phoenix mayor in 2018, posted the clip of Kelly speaking.
“Shameful video of Mark Kelly making a racist joke to an all-white crowd,” Sanchez tweeted. “He must think people named Rodrigo look like monkeys. Time to move past this type of racism & time for the media to scrutinize Mark Kelly more thoroughly like they would a Republican.”
Newsweek contacted Kelly’s campaign for further comment but did not hear back in time for publication.
Kelly ran uncontested in the state’s Democratic primary election, which took place August 4. He will face off against Republican Senator Martha McSally in November’s election. McSally was sworn in as the state’s junior senator in January 2019 following the death of Senator John McCain.
The latest public opinion polls continue to show Kelly slightly ahead of McSally. A poll conducted by the Benenson Strategy Group/GS Strategy Group from August 28 through September 8 found that 48 percent of likely voters backed Kelly, compared with 45 percent who said they supported McSally.
Polling conducted by CNBC/Change Research from September 4 to 6 found that Kelly leads McSally by 6 percentage points, 51 percent to 45 percent.
Two different Fox News polls conducted August 29 through September 1 showed Kelly surging ahead of his opponent.
The first asked 772 likely voters whom they would back in the November election, with 56 percent saying Kelly and 39 percent choosing McSally. The second poll, conducted among 858 registered voters, found that 55 percent picked Kelly and 38 percent said McSally.
