Illinois Senator Dick Durbin Retiring After 44 Years in Congress
Durbin becomes the fifth Senate retirement of the 2026 cycle.
Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, a Democrat, confirmed today he will not be running for re-election in 2026. He will finish his Senate tenure after five six-year terms in office. He made the announcement in a video that can be viewed here.
Durbin, 80, becomes the fifth Senator to retire in the 2026 cycle and the fourth Democrat to do so. He joins Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Gary Peters of Michigan, Tina Smith of Minnesota, and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire. The 2026 Senate cycle will see 35 contested races - 33 regular elections and 2 special elections. Republicans currently hold 22 of these seats while Democrats represent the remaining 13.
Durbin has represented Illinois in the U.S. Senate since January 1997. Moreover, he has been the Whip of the Senate Democratic Caucus since January 2005: the second-highest position in Democratic leadership. That included two stints as Senate Majority Whip from January 2007 to January 2015 and again from January 2021 to January 2025.
During his senior year in college, Durbin interned for Senator Paul Douglas and then worked on his unsuccessful 1966 re-election campaign. He then became legal counsel to Lieutenant Governor Paul Simon from 1969 to 1972. That was followed by serving as legal counsel to the Judiciary Committee in the Illinois State Senate from 1972 to 1982. In 1978, Durbin was the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Illinois. However, he and Michael Bakalis lost 59.0-40.1 against Republican incumbents James Thompson and David O’Neal.
In 1982, Durbin was the Democratic nominee for Illinois’ 20th Congressional District, which covered Macon and most of Springfield. In the general election, he flipped the seat for his party 50.4-49.6 against Republican incumbent Paul Findley. He was re-elected to the U.S. House in 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, and 1994.
In 1996, Durbin entered the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate after Democratic incumbent Senator Paul Simon announced his retirement after two terms in office. He dominated the primary 64.9-29.5 against former State Treasurer Pat Quinn. In the general election, he kept the seat for his party 56.1-40.7 against Republican Al Salvi. He was re-elected in 2002, 2008, 2014 and 2020. He was re-elected to his final term 54.9-38.9 against Republican Mark Curran.
During the 119th Congress, Durbin serves on the Senate Committees on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; Appropriations; and the Judiciary. He has been the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee since February 2021. From that perch, he oversaw the confirmation of 235 federal judges during Joe Biden’s presidency.
No candidates have yet announced campaigns for either the Democratic or Republican nominations to succeed Durbin in the U.S. Senate. The winner of the Democratic primary will be favored to win the general election. Speculation of who will compete has focused on four individuals: Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton and U.S. Representatives Robin Kelly, Raja Krishnamoorthi and Lauren Underwood. On the Republican side, U.S. Representative Darin LaHood has also talked about a potential campaign.
Illinois has supported the Democratic nominee for President in every cycle since Bill Clinton obtained a plurality of the vote in 1992. In 2024, Democrat Kamala Harris prevailed 54.2-43.3 against Republican Donald Trump in her ultimately unsuccessful national campaign. Notably, that was a 6.1% shift to the right since 2020.