CHICAGO — Tammy Duckworth, a former Army helicopter pilot who lost both legs in a grenade attack in Iraq, is now leading the charge for the Democrats.
Duckworth on Tuesday narrowly won the Democratic nomination for Congress in a primary race for the House seat held by Republican Rep. Henry J. Hyde, who is retiring after 32 years.
In November, Duckworth will face state Sen. Peter Roskam, a well-to-do lawyer and conservative from Wheaton who ran unopposed in the GOP primary.
Duckworth, 38, a major in the Illinois Army National Guard, has portrayed U.S. involvement in Iraq as a mistake.
About 10 veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are candidates for Congress, all but one of them Democrats.
The Fighting Democrats, as they are being called, contend their battlefield experience will allow them to criticize the war without being written off as naive and weak on defense.
