CHICAGO (AP) — Democratic U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth is promising to fight for the middle class and recalling her own victories over adversity as she becomes the second woman to represent Illinois in the U.S. Senate.

Duckworth unseated Republican U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk on Tuesday.

Democrats counted on a win in Illinois as they tried to retake control of the Senate. But Democrats saw their odds of gaining the majority slipping away early Wednesday with losses in other key states.

Duckworth spoke at a party in Chicago on Tuesday about the day the helicopter she was co-piloting in Iraq was shot down.

She lost both legs but survived, and said that because of that, she wakes up every morning trying “to be worthy of this miraculous second chance.”

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