PHOENIX — Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly will have a primetime speaking role on Thursday's final night of the Democratic National Convention, ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris' acceptance speech as the party's presidential nominee, 12News has learned.
Kelly was one of the final three contenders to serve as Harris' vice-presidential running mate, a spot that went to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
"Our campaign was built to win a close race, and we will do that through hard work, reaching the battleground state voters who will decide this election," Dan Kanninen, battleground states director for the Harris-Walz campaign, said in a prepared statement.
"That includes elevating trusted voices in those states like many of our featured speakers this week."
With the veepstakes behind him, Kelly has said he expects to have a prominent role during the campaign as a surrogate for Harris and supporting Senate candidates across the country, including Arizona Congressman Ruben Gallego.
The retired space shuttle commander and combat pilot has won two U.S. Senate races in the last four years, firmly establishing Arizona as a battleground state.
As a border state senator, Kelly can tackle questions about the Biden Administration's border policy.
Undocumented border crossers have shattered records during Biden's four years in office.
But new data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows apprehensions at the Southwest border fell in July to their lowest level in four years.
Immigration remains among the top issues for voters in Arizona and across the country.
Harris' sudden ascension as the Democratic presidential nominee has erased Republican nominee Donald Trump's polling lead in Arizona.
A poll released last weekend by The New York Times and Siena College shows Harris leading Trump among likely voters in Arizona, 50 percent to 45 percent.
The state is now rated a toss-up.
Two weeks ago, a Harris-Walz rally in Glendale drew an estimated 15,000 people, the largest audience for a Democratic event in at least 25 years.
On Thursday, the same day Harris delivers her acceptance speech, Trump will visit the Mexico border in Cochise County.
On Friday, Turning Point USA's political action wing will sponsor a rally for Trump at the same venue Harris spoke at.
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