Tammy Duckworth (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. Senate from Illinois. She assumed office on January 3, 2017. Her current term ends on January 3, 2029.
Duckworth (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the U.S. Senate to represent Illinois. She won in the general election on November 8, 2022.
Duckworth is a former Democratic U.S. House member, representing the 8th Congressional District of Illinois from 2013 to 2017.
Duckworth is an Iraq War veteran. She served in the Reserve Forces for 23 years and retired at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
In the 115th Congress, Duckworth sponsored the Veterans Small Business Enhancement Act of 2018.
Duckworth was born in Bangkok, Thailand, on March 12, 1968. She lived in Thailand and Singapore before, at the age of 16, moving to Hawaii with her family. She graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 1989 and obtained a master's degree in international affairs from George Washington University in 1992. She would go on to obtain a Ph.D. from Capella University in 2015. Duckworth was a member of George Washington University's ROTC program, where she met her future husband, Bryan Bowlsbey.
Duckworth served four years as a helicopter pilot in the U.S. Army Reserve before joining the Illinois National Guard in 1996. While a member of the Guard, Duckworth deployed as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In 2004, Duckworth's helicopter was shot down, leading to the amputation of both of her legs. She was later awarded the Purple Heart. She retired from the Guard in 2014 at the rank of lieutenant colonel.
In 2006, Duckworth ran for the U.S. House, losing to Peter Roskam (R) 49% to 51%. Later that year, she was appointed director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs by then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D). In 2009, President Barack Obama (D) appointed Duckworth assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
After two years serving in the Obama administration, Duckworth left to run for the U.S. House a second time. In 2012, she defeated incumbent Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) 55% to 45%. She won re-election in 2014 with 56% of the vote to challenger Lawrence Kaifesh's (R) 44%. In 2016, Duckworth challenged Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) rather than seeking re-election to the House, defeating Kirk 55% to 40%.
