UPDATE: Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., announced his retirement Wednesday.
He told the New York Times, “There are good people in the wings, good people on the bench ready to serve, and they can fight this fight just as effectively as I can. There comes a point where you have to face reality that this is the time to leave for me.”
This is the text ot the original article, published April 17:
Amid speculation that Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., will announce his retirement soon, Democrats are gearing up for a political free-for-all to fill his seat.
Durbin, 80, who has been in Congress since the Reagan administration, fueled speculation over his retirement after reports that he raised less than $43,000 in the first three months of 2025. His seat is up for election in 2026.
Durbin has been slow to make a decision, telling the press in late March he would decide on his future plans in the coming weeks. Illinois’ senior senator is in his fifth term in the upper chamber after seven terms in the House.
The Senate seat, which likely would go to a Democrat in deep blue Illinois, would be highly sought after.
Back in late 2008, for example, then-President-elect Barack Obama’s departure from the Senate fueled behind-the-scenes drama between then-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the Obama team over who to appoint to the Senate seat Obama was vacating.
The back-and-forth, which shed light on the contentious inner workings of the Illinois Democratic Party, ultimately led to Blagojevich’s serving prison time for public corruption for attempting to sell appointment to the seat. Blagojevich wound up appointing former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris, who completed Obama’s term, but did not run for reelection.
With Durbin’s fellow Illinois Democrat senator, Tammy Duckworth, being just 56, a cohort of other Illinois Democrats are angling to seek Durbin’s seat if he vacates it, as another opportunity might not come for decades.
The potential Democrat would-be senators include Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, who has reportedly sought Gov. JB Pritzker’s endorsement for the seat. There’s also Rep. Lauren Underwood, who has been sending out fundraising emails signaling interest in the seat, and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who has raised millions amid the Durbin retirement speculation.
Duckworth recently told reporters that the Senate aspirants “have to do what they think is right for themselves,” but added, “Obviously, Sen. Durbin has more than earned the patience and the grace to make the decision on his own time.”
Another question arises: Who would assume Durbin’s coveted position as Senate minority whip?
Although top Senate Democrats have not publicly angled for that high-ranking position in leadership, potential successors might include Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey or Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.
