Tammy Duckworth Set To Challenge Mark Kirk For Senate Seat

By Lisa White in News on Mar 30, 2015 4:05PM

After recent murmurs of fundraising for a Senate bid and an announcement in January she was exploring the option of running, Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth (IL-08) has made it official and announced her candidacy for the U.S. Senate today. Duckworth will challenge Republican Senator Mark Kirk for re-election in 2016. Kirk was elected to the Senate in 2010 after almost 10 years in the House of Representatives.

In a video to supporters, Duckworth shares a bit of history about her upbringing, her service in the military and her commitment and vision of leadership for Illinois.

Duckworth is in her second term as a Representative of Illinois' 8th Congressional District. Before that she served as both an Assistant Secretary and a Director of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Duckworth served in the Army Reserve Force for 23 years until her retirement in 2014 at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. In 2004, Duckworth lost both of her legs during the Iraq War when a Black Hawk helicopter she was piloting was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.