Duckworth wins second term as Illinois' US Senator

US Sen. Tammy Duckworth heads back to Washington for her second term.

Incumbent Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill, was easily re-elected for her second six-year term with 56% of the vote, beat back a challenge from Republican Kathy Salvi, who wound up with 42.1% of the cast ballots. Libertarian Bill Redpath took 1.7% of the vote.

"I know there are still some folks seeking to sow seeds of division among us," Duckworth said in a statement. "I know that we’re a Union that, yes, at times has been anything but united. But the miracle of America is that when it looks like those worst instincts are set to prevail, we come together and resist. 

"We refuse to give in to that darkness,” said the 54-year old Army veteran who lost both of her legs when the helicopter she was piloting was shot down in Iraq.

Duckworth's mother is from Thailand and she can trace her father's ancestry back to the Revolutionary War. Before winning her first term for the Senate in 2016, she served in the US House of Representatives.

There are only two US Senators of Asian American heritage. Besides Duckworth, there is Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, who won re-election in 2020.

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