Iraq war veteran Tammy Duckworth says she’s filing with the Federal Election Commission today for her official bid for Congress.

There was much speculation of why Duckworth left the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs last month. Today, she confirmed she’s vying for Illinois’ 8th Congressional seat.

Duckworth lost her bid in the 6th Congressional District in 2006 against Republican Peter Roskam. She says this time the race will be different because of the redrawn congressional map.

“The new 8th, as it’s drawn, has about 50 percent of it are the parts of the 6th that I won. So these are folks who have already selected me once as their choice to represent them in Washington. And I’m going to just continue to engage them and then talk to the rest of the district about what’s really important to us which is rebuilding our economy,” she said.

Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi is also in the race. He lost a primary bid for Illinois comptroller in 2010. He’s reported raising more than $400,000 so far.

Republican Representative Joe Walsh will have to decide whether to re-run for the new 8th District or make a bid elsewhere.