Born in the small town of Rolette, North Dakota, Kelly and his family later moved to Saint Paul, where he graduated from Harding High School, and the University of Minnesota.

While in the legislature, he worked to reform Minnesota's criminal justice system, including creating a statewide criminal gang strike force, developing a four-year law enforcement degree, authoring many of the existing crime-victim and witness laws, and worked towards requiring sexual offender registration and community notification.

[1] According to critics, his conservative views, which may have been intended to garner support from Republicans and independents, undermined his constituent base in the Democratic Party.

Fellow DFLer Chris Coleman finished in first place with 52% of the vote, Kelly at 27%, and the Green Party candidate, Elizabeth Dickinson, at 20%.

[2] In late 2006, Kelly was named Deputy Associate Administrator for Intergovernmental Relations for the Environmental Protection Agency by President Bush.