Kirk takes on Duckworth's family history in debate

SPRINGFIELD - In a debate packed with testy exchanges, Republican U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk ribbed Democratic U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth's family history of military service and she criticized him for previous remarks he made against the president, as the candidates made one of their final pitches to voters Thursday.

The Illinois Senate contest is considered one of the most important this November because it's one of a handful of races that could determine which party controls the chamber next year.

Kirk, a first-term senator from Highland Park, is seen as one of the Senate's most vulnerable Republican incumbents, and Democrats consider Duckworth's success on Election Day one of the keys to reclaiming a majority in the chamber. Duckworth has a comfortable lead in the most recent polls, but Kirk says the race is closer than people think.

The two met for their first televised debate in an auditorium at the University of Illinois in Springfield. One of the evening's most awkward moments came after Duckworth, an Iraq War veteran, spoke about how her "family has served this nation in uniform going back to the Revolution." The comment prompted Kirk to quip: "I'd forgotten your parents came all of the way from Thailand to serve George Washington."

Duckworth was born in Bangkok and is the first Asian-American congresswoman from Illinois. Her American-born father, Franklin, served in World War II and had ancestors who fought in the Revolutionary War, according to a 2012 Mother Jones article.

The remark was greeted mostly by silence in the auditorium, and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee immediately called the comment offensive and said Kirk should apologize.

Kirk has been criticized before for statements he's made during the campaign. In August he said President Obama was acting like the "drug dealer in chief" when the U.S. made a $400 million payment to Iran contingent on the return of U.S. prisoners. Earlier in the debate Duckworth cited that as an example of why she thinks Kirk shouldn't be in the Senate.

Kirk spokesman Kevin Artl praised the Senator's debate performance.

"Senator Kirk has always commended Representative Duckworth. He's called her a war hero in his commercials and he commends her family's service," Artl said. "But that's not what this debate was about."

Kirk repeatedly called Duckworth too partisan and said he worried "that she will go to war with the 54 Republicans" in the Senate. He emphasized his bipartisan record, while Duckworth focused her arguments on pledging to improve economic opportunities for working families, saying she wants to ensure they "have a shot at the American Dream."

Both candidates have received high-profile endorsements in the final weeks of their campaign. Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney praised Kirk as an independent voice in the Senate and said his victory is important to help the GOP control the chamber and "keep America from going off the rails."

Kirk has been a vocal critic of Donald Trump's presidential candidacy and has called for the Senate to hold hearings on Obama's pick for the Supreme Court.

This month, Obama appeared at a fundraiser for Duckworth and recorded a radio ad noting how she made her way through college with the help of loans and grants and highlighting her father's job as a factory worker. Obama says in the ad that Duckworth has "walked in our shoes."