Rep. Tammy Duckworth is considering challenging Republican Sen. Mark Kirk in 2016.
The two-term Democrat, who is finishing maternity leave following the birth of her daughter, said she is seriously considering challenging a vulnerable Kirk and beginning the process of exploring a Senate bid.
“My baby just turned eight weeks old. The first two months with her coming early were 110 percent focused on her,” Duckworth said in a phone interview Monday with Roll Call.
Duckworth said she is “getting ready to get back to work in a few weeks, and I’m starting to listen to folks throughout the state, listen to Illinois families about the challenges they’re facing, listen to my friends and closest advisers and taking a real serious look at 2016.”
“I have really been humbled by how much encouragement [I’ve received] from so many folks to seriously consider a run for Senate in 2016,” Duckworth said in the interview. “A lot of folks here in Illinois are looking for a change, and right now what I’m doing is starting to reach out and listen to many voices throughout the state.”
In 2016, Democrats would have to pick up five seats to ensure Senate control and the Illinois race is already being billed as a top target by the Democratic Party.
Kirk and Duckworth are both war veterans: Kirk was in the Navy Reserve, while Duckworth was in the Army.
Duckworth hopes to make a decision in the “coming weeks.”
In 2012, President Obama won Illinois by a 17 percentage point margin. Kirk won by just a two percentage point margin over Democratic candidate Alexi Giannoulias.
“Mark Kirk is one of the most vulnerable Senators in the country and Democrats are confident that we’ll have a great candidate who will beat him in 2016,” Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesman Justin Barasky said.
