CHICAGO (AP) — Democratic U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois says she’ll run for U.S. Senate in 2016, setting up a high-profile challenge to Republican Sen. Mark Kirk’s re-election bid.

In a video posted Monday on her campaign website, Duckworth says it’s time for “Washington to be held accountable.”

Duckworth is serving a second term in Illinois’ 8th District, which covers suburbs west and northwest of Chicago. The Iraq War veteran and double amputee was elected to the House in 2012.

Kirk is in his first term and intends to focus his campaign in part on his recovery from a stroke.

Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider issued a statement saying Duckworth “is not the kind of partisan politician Illinois families want to represent them in the United States Senate.”

 

 

 

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