October 2, 2007 (CHICAGO) -- Democratic state Sen. Debbie Halvorson said Tuesday that she will seek retiring U.S. Rep. Jerry Weller's congressional seat.

Halvorson, the state Senate majority leader, said she spent last weekend in Washington meeting with congressional, political, and national party leaders, including at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

"They have assured me that this is an important race to them and that we will be working together," said the 49-year-old Halvorson, D-Crete.

The district of suburban Chicago and rural communities went for Republican President George Bush in 2004, but Weller's margins of victory have shrunk in the last few elections.