Duckworth talks 'burbs, seniors at Pelosi event

I stopped by 8th District Democratic candidate Tammy Duckworth’s new office in Rolling Meadows (just a few miles away from the DH mothership) yesterday afternoon. The space inside the industrial park off Algonquin Road is shaping up, with more staff and furniture arriving by the week.

Duckworth, who was working on some campaign fundraising inside her private office (a welcome relief, she says, from her kitchen table, where she started campaign work this summer), told me about a recent to California to a Nancy Pelosi fundraising event where, she said, the suburbs were the hot topic of conversation. This brought to mind thoughts of my conversation this spring with Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair Steve Israel, who said the suburbs were the “epicenter” of 2012.

“Everyone knows the suburbs are going to be a major force in the 2012 election,” Duckworth said, noting she received lots of questions about what she was hearing from suburban seniors and other residents about Medicare and federal programs.

Duckworth and I also chatted a bit about marathons - she finished the Chicago marathon in a little over 2 hours in a hand-crank bicycle a few weeks ago. I told her I didn't run Chicago this year - the first time in years - and it felt incredibly strange.