Thailand-born and also Illinois Representative Tammy Duckworth who was a disabled veteran of the Iraq War, last night won the Senate election in the United States.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Ms Duckworth ousted Republican Sen. Mark Kirk today after a contentious battle that left the centrist incumbent on the defensive for much of the campaign.
Ms Duckworth won with 66.3% percent of the vote, compared with 28.9% for Mr Kirk when the Associated Press called the race with 20% of precincts reporting.
Elected to the House in 2012, Ms Duckworth previously worked as an assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and before that was the head of veterans affairs for the state of Illinois.
While in Iraq in 2004, she lost both her legs when the Black Hawk helicopter she was piloting was shot down.
Kirk was elected in 2010 as part of a GOP wave that added to the party’s strength and helped it win control of the Senate in 2014.
But in the year of Donald Trump, that wave receded and left Mr Kirk exposed.
Ms Tammy Duckworth visited Thailand in 2013 after her election to the House of Representatives in 2012 and worked at therapy classes with recent Thai military amputees.
Tammy, a Thai-born American, wins Senate Election in Illinois |