By Louis Chan
AsAmNews National Correspondent
Sen Mark Kirk (R-IL) moved to put the fire out over his tweet denigrating his opponents family that many considered racist.
The one term junior senator sent out a tweet offering his apologies.
Sincere apologies to an American hero, Tammy Duckworth, and gratitude for her family’s service. #ilsen
— Mark Kirk (@MarkKirk) October 28, 2016
He also phoned Duckworth prior to the tweet, but its unclear if the two ever talked.
On Wednesday during a debate with his opponent Democratic Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Duckworth highlighted her military service to the United States and her family’s long history which goes back to the Revolutionary War.
“I had forgotten that your parents came all the way from Thailand to serve George Washington,” responded Kirk.
Duckworth was born in Bangkok. Her mother is Chinese from Thailand. Her father served in both the Army and Marines in World War II, Korea and Vietnam and his father served in the Revolutionary War.
Thanks, Sen. Kirk. Let’s honor my family’s service – and your own – by sticking to the issues for the final week. See you Friday in Chicago. https://t.co/INdBtm5K3G
— Tammy Duckworth (@TammyforIL) October 28, 2016
Duckworth is one of the key races Democrats will have to win if they want to take back control of the Senate. In a poll released by the Paul Simon Institute at Southern Illinois University on October 4, Duckworth led Kirk 48 to 34 percent.
AsAmNews is an all-volunteer effort of dedicated staff and interns. You can show your support by liking our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/asamnews, following us on Twitter, sharing our stories, interning or joining our staff.