Tammy Duckworth lost both legs when the helicopter she was piloting was shot down in Iraq in 2004, but it may be a distant relative's military service that puts the nation's first wounded female veteran in the U.S. Senate next year.
Her Illinois contest against incumbent Republican Mark Kirk has been among the most heated political fights this year, for months viewed as a potential tipping point for political control of the upper chamber.
The two-term representative is seen as game-changer for Democrats on defense issues, a war hero already vocal on a host of security and defense issues. And, she's running in a left-leaning state at 48-years-old, potentially marking her as a prominent Senate figure for years to come -- if she can win.
"She's already one of the key voices for our generation in public office today," said Jon Soltz, is the co-founder and chairman progressive advocacy group VoteVets.org. "You're not just looking at another Iraq War veteran in Congress. You're looking at a potential Senate Armed Services Committee chair in years to come."
Polls throughout the summer showed her with a slight lead over Kirk, a first-term senator and Navy veteran. But that was before last month's debate, where Kirk took a shot at Duckworth's heritage and family military history.
At the Oct. 27 event, in response to why she wants to serve in the Senate, Duckworth said cited her family's military background and the desire to bring her own war experience to public debate on defense and national security.
"My family has served this nation in uniform going back to the revolution," she said. "I am a daughter of the American Revolution. I've bled for this nation. But I still want to be there in the Senate when the drums of war sound … to say this is what it costs and this is what you're asking us to do."
Kirk, who has questioned Duckworth's honest throughout the campaign, growled in response "I forgot that your parents came all the way from Thailand to serve George Washington."
Duckworth's mother is from Thailand. Her father, an Army veteran like his daughter, traced his roots back to the earliest days of the country, including several relatives who fought in the Revolutionary War.
The Democrat's supporters immediately decried the comment racist, saying Kirk was trying to imply her background made her less American. They also noted that Kirk has falsely referenced that his 24-year Naval career included some time in Iraq, when in fact his military career did not include any deployments there.
Kirk apologized for the remarks after the event but has lost several high-profile endorsements in recent days.
The latest gaffe severely hurt the re-election chances for Kirk, who chairs the Veterans Affairs and Military Construction panel on the Senate Appropriations Committee. That post has made him a significant voice on VA reform and funding issues in recent years, amid the scandals surrounding appointment times and access to care at department hospitals.
Now Duckworth, an Army Reserve veteran, appears poised to take his place, and possibly a similar chairmanship if Senate Democrats can flip just a few seats and reclaim the majority in the chamber.
As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, Duckworth has been a vocal proponent of opening combat roles to women -- her standard quip is that "I didn't lose my legs in a bar fight" -- and focused in recent months on aviation procurement issues.
Her two-year stint as assistant secretary of public affairs at VA has proven fodder for critics, who charge her with not doing enough to prevent a host of scandals related to veterans care in recent years. Those problems mostly came to light after she was elected to Congress, where she alternated between being a proponent and critic of the department.
She’s also a VA patient, an amputee intimately familiar with the intricacies of military and VA medicine.
"Those experiences aren’t the kind of things you can just learn," said Dan Tobon, a fellow Illinois Guardsman who has appeared in commercials for Duckworth’s campaign.
"I have friends dealing with those kinds of injuries. If anyone is going to have a motivation to provide better services in VA, it’ll be someone who knows the problems well." Follow @LeoShane
Leo Shane III covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He can be reached at lshane@militarytimes.com .
Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.
