Illinois instantly became a state to watch in the battle for control of the next U.S. Senate Monday, as Rep. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., jumped into the race.
She would take on Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., who would be seeking a second term.
Democrats see Duckworth as a formidable challenger. Democrats now control 46 of the Senate’s 100 seats. Democrats will defend 10 Senate seats in 2016, while Republicans defend 24. The Rothenberg-Gonzales Report rates Illinois a “pure toss-up.”
The second-term congresswoman, an Army veteran, lost both her legs in Iraq when her helicopter was shot down.
Kirk is considered one of the most vulnerable Republicans in the 2016 election cycle. He won in 2010 by a slim margin – less than 50 percent – and suffered a stroke three years ago.
Duckworth, 47, announced her candidacy in a two minute video, describing herself as a “daughter of a Marine, a wife, a new mom and a combat veteran.” She recalled her service in Iraq, and talked about “the heroism of my courageous buddies.”
Duckworth then goes on to budget matters, talking about how she returned more than $10,000 of her own pay and cut more than $100,000 from her office budget. “It’s time for Washington to be held accoutable,” Duckworth says.
Republicans immediately responded. “Unlike Congresswoman Duckworth, who has put her extreme policies in Washington before Illinois families by voting with Nancy Pelosi 92 percent of the time, Mark Kirk has been an independent voice,” said a release from the National Republican Senatorial Committee.