The Daily Herald endorsed Sen. Mark Kirk’s re-election bid this weekend, lauding the Republican incumbent for his recovery from a devastating 2012 stroke.
The paper’s endorsement also recognized Kirk’s opponent, Rep. Tammy Duckworth, who lost both legs piloting a Black Hawk helicopter over Iraq in 2004. While Duckworth has been widely praised for her heroism, the endorsement claimed “there are two stories of heroism in this year’s Senate race, not just one,” crediting Kirk. The Daily Herald editorial board added that they like both Kirk and Duckworth as candidates.
“The only sad part of the Senate race is that one of them has to lose,” they wrote.
The board also noted the tone and tenor the race has taken, calling the negativity, “unworthy of two such fine people.”
Nevertheless, their endorsement ultimately went to Kirk. The Daily Herald editorial board credited the Republican for taking political risks, like whole-heartedly disavowing party presidential nominee Donald Trump in June. They wrote that Kirk’s intellect is “as strong as ever” and lauded his “willingness to cross the aisle or to break when necessary with his party may be even stronger than it had been in the past.”
“Kirk is an independent and moderate Republican in a Senate that does not have enough of them,” the editorial board wrote, “His vote would be a thoughtful check on a likely Hillary Clinton presidency.”
Last week, the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times endorsed Kirk’s opponent, Duckworth.
