June 05--U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin is endorsing U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth for the Democratic nomination for Senate next year, backing his prot駩 in a budding primary contest.
"My friend Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth is running to represent Illinois in the U.S. Senate in an amazing journey from the battlefields of Iraq to the campaign battleground in Illinois," Durbin said in a fundraising memo to supporters aimed at helping the two-term House member from Hoffman Estates.
"Tammy is no stranger to tough challenges, but to win this race, she is going to need our full support," the veteran Democratic senator said.
Duckworth announced in late March her candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Mark Kirk. Last month, Andrea Zopp, head of the Chicago Urban League who recently resigned her seat on the board of the Chicago Public Schools, said she also would seek the nomination. Democratic U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly of Matteson also is exploring a potential Senate primary bid.
Durbin helped recruit Duckworth as a congressional candidate in her unsuccessful 2006 bid against Republican Rep. Peter Roskam. In 2012, Duckworth won a bid for Congress against Republican Rep. Joe Walsh in a redrawn west and northwest suburban district designed to favor Democrats. She was re-elected last fall.
