Tammy Duckworth to Run for Senate Bid in 2016
Rep. Tammy Duckworth officially announced her 2016 Senate bid Monday in an autobiographical video titled "Tammy Duckworth is running for the Senate."
Duckworth was elected to her second term last November, Chicago Sun Times reports.
The wounded Iraq war veteran is looking to challenge Sen. Mark Kirk in the 2016 Democratic nomination.
Duckworth said in the video, "I'm running for the United States Senate in 2016 because it's time for Washington to be held accountable and to put Illinois' families and communities first."
She also said, "when Congress failed to pass a budget, I sponsored the no budget no pay act and led by example – returning more than ten thousand dollars of my own pay to taxpayers and cutting over a hundred thousand from my office budget."
Duckworth will be visiting Illinois communities after the Easter and Passover holidays jumping into the 2016 Senate race as two other House Democrats from her state are considering a run.
Rep. Bill Foster and Rep. Robin Kelly are considering a bid in the March 2016 race while Sen. Kirk is seeking a second full term.
Rep. Kirk served five years in the House of Representatives before joining the Senate and then taking a year off to recover from a stroke.
Rep. Cheri Bustos was set to run for a 2016 Senate bid but decided to not run after Duckworth's video release.
"I can't see jumping into a race at this time when we already have such a strong fighter for working men and women and veterans," Bustos said in a statement.
Duckworth's video release highlighted her humble upbringing as a daughter of a Marine and now a loving mother and wife, CNN reports.
"If you elect me as Illinois' senator I will fight my heart out to represent you with honor and integrity," the second-term Democrat said in the video.
Both Duckworth and Kirk have military backgrounds.
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