Three astronauts endorse McSally over fellow astronaut Kelly in Arizona Senate race

Three former astronauts have written an op-ed endorsing Republican Sen. Martha McSally in her race against Democratic retired astronaut Mark Kelly in Arizona's closely watched Senate race.

"As astronauts and veterans, we honor the service of every single American who has served their country alongside us. But having 'astronaut' on your resume does not mean you'd be a good U.S. senator," former astronauts Tom Stafford, Charlie Duke and Jack Lousma wrote in an op-ed published in The Arizona Republic.

"Mark Kelly is hoping Arizonans are so impressed with his background that they ignore the fact that he's supported radical gun control activists, that his plan for the eventual government takeover of health care would end Medicare as we know it, and that he'd vote to raise our taxes," they added.

The former astronauts lauded McSally for becoming the "first woman in U.S. history to fly a fighter jet in combat and command a fighter squadron" and boasted that "she broke barriers in the Air Force and the military."