U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth Wins Second Term; incumbent Illinois comptroller, treasurer also seen as front-runners in re-election bids – Chicago Tribune

U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth was expected to seek a second term on Tuesday after her Republican challenger struggled against the incumbent and rising political star in the Democratic Party.

The Associated Press announced the race for U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth shortly after polls closed Tuesday, and in other statewide contests, Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza and Treasurer Michael Frericks made good early gains in their re-election bids against GOP opponents.

Unofficial early results showed Mendoza ahead of her opponent, Shannon Teresa, with 62% of the vote and 1% of precincts shortly before 7:30 p.m. shortly after the polls closed.

Duckworth, a combat veteran who lost both legs in the Iraq war, had more than 62 percent of the vote in less than 1 percent of the precincts as of 7:15 p.m., according to unofficial early results.

In 2012, Duckworth, of Hoffman Estates, became the first disabled woman elected to Congress when she defeated then-U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh, a Republican. Four years later she went to victory over Republican U.S. Senator Mark Kirk and has since become a senator the first sitting senator to give birtha household name in Illinois politics and a popular enough politician nationally to be included on President Joe Biden’s shortlist for vice president.

Democrats had expected Duckworth’s seat to be easy to hold on to, despite what looms as a midyear red wave, including the possibility of one or both houses of the U.S. Congress shifting to Republican control. Throughout the general election, Duckworth maintained a clear fundraising lead over her Republican challenger, Cathy Salvey.

The freshman senator is the vice chair of the Democratic National Committee and has aligned herself closely with the Democratic national agenda, voting for Biden’s sweeping Deflation Act and the American Rescue Plan.

Duckworth serves on the US Senate Armed Services Committee and the Environment and Public Works Committee.

She passed an infrastructure bill that prevents governors from delaying projects in neighboring states, another that allows veteran small business owners to purchase surplus federal equipment and property, and law requiring airports provide rooms for nursing mothers and changing tables.

One provision she introduced and passed in 2021 provides funding to build clean water infrastructure and remove lead pipes across the country. Under the law, the Environmental Protection Agency planned to give Illinois $288 million in 2022. Duckworth.

Much of Duckworth’s Senate work has focused on protecting veterans and their families. Before running for Congress, Duckworth led the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs in 2006 under disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich and became an assistant secretary at the US Department of Veterans Affairs after President Barack Obama was elected.

Salvi has never held public office, but touted a conservative agenda that included increasing domestic energy production, cutting government spending, cutting taxes and strengthening border protection. On the campaign trail, she closely followed the 2022 GOP handbook, criticizing Biden for having a “socialist, leftist agenda” and Duckworth for being nothing more than a “rubber stamp.”

On abortion, Salvi and Duckworth were perhaps the most at odds, with the challenger opposing abortion rights and Duckworth pledging to do “absolutely everything” in her power to enshrine federal abortion rights if re-elected. Reproductive rights have been a key tenet of Duckworth’s campaign this year following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which returned abortion legalization to the states.

Meanwhile, Mendoza ran the well-financed GOP challenger Teresa, who was part of a slate backed in the primary by billionaire Ken Griffin. Mendoza, an unsuccessful candidate for Chicago mayor in 2019, took credit for a modest recovery in the state’s finances during her six years in office.

And Frerichs hoped to overcome a challenge from Republican Demer after highlighting a record he said includes returning more unclaimed property to residents, launching new investment programs and making major changes to the state’s Bright Start college savings program.

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