Two-term Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) has announced her candidacy for the U.S. Senate. Duckworth will challenge incumbent Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) in the 2016 election.
Duckworth, an Iraq war veteran, underwent bilateral lower-limb amputations in 2004, the result of injuries sustained when a rocket-propelled grenade struck the helicopter she was flying while on a mission over Baghdad. She has served as director of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs (2006-2009) and as an assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (2009-2011). She served in the U.S. Army Reserve for 23 years until her retirement at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 2014.
