Rep. Tammy Duckworth on Tuesday ousted Sen. Mark Kirk in Illinois, giving Democrats their first Senate pickup in a night in which they hope to win a few more Senate seats to regain control of the upper chamber.

Kirk narrowly won his seat, previously held by President Obama, in 2010, a Republican wave year. His odds of holding it were always long given the strong Democratic turnout in presidential elections.

The Democrats need to win five seats to retake control of the Senate, four if Hillary Clinton wins the presidency (her vice president would serve as the tiebreaker in a 50-50 chamber.)

Duckworth's win puts them a quarter of the way there, barring an unexpected Democratic loss (none were forecast). Duckworth is an Iraq War combat veteran.

Kirk is a hard-nosed politician who as a member of the House in a swing suburban Chicago district survived more than one tough campaign.

A couple of years ago he suffered a stroke. Still, he campaigned vigorously and managed to keep the race close. His poor performance in a debate with Duckworth might have contributed to his loss.