Illinois Democrat Robin Kelly Enters Primary for Open U.S. Senate Seat

Kelly joins Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton in the Democratic primary.

U.S. Representative Robin Kelly, a Democrat, has today decided to enter the open Senate race in Illinois. Her launch video can be found here. She becomes the second candidate to begin a campaign for the Democratic nomination after Senator Dick Durbin, a fellow Democrat, opted to retire following five terms in office.

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. So far, five incumbent Senators have announced their retirements. Meanwhile, Kelly becomes the eleventh retirement from the U.S. House of Representatives this cycle, the sixth Democrat to do so, and the ninth leaving to run for another office.

Kelly, 69, has served Illinois’ 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since April 2013. The districts covers the far southeast portion of Chicago as well as some of its southern suburbs. It then stretches south to cover parts of Will, Kankakee, Iroquois and Vermillion Counties.

From 1992 to 2006, Kelly worked as Director of Community Affairs in Matteson. In 2002, she defeated five-term incumbent Harold Murphy in the Democratic primary for the Illinois House of Representatives. She ultimately served District 38 from January 2003 to January 2007. She resigned to become Chief of Staff to Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias. In 2010, she was the Democratic nominee for Treasurer but lost 49.7-45.3 against Republican Dan Rutherford. In 2011, she was appointed Chief Administrative Officer to Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle.

In February 2013, Kelly competed in the Democratic primary for Illinois’ 2nd Congressional District after Jesse Jackson Jr. resigned early from office. She won the nomination 51.8-24.4-10.8 against former U.S. Representative Debbie Halvorson and Alderman Anthony Beale. During the April 2013 special election, Kelly prevailed 70.7-22.1 against Republican Paul McKinley. She was re-elected in 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2024. While in office, she also chaired the Illinois Democratic Party from March 2021 to July 2022.

For the 119th Congress, Kelly serves on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. She becomes the third member of the panel to depart - joining fellow Democrat Jan Schakowsky of Illinois and Republican John James of Michigan.

Speculation commenced on who would run to succeed Durbin in the Senate for months before he made his retirement announcement. The field largely consisted of four names: Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton and U.S. Representatives Kelly, Raja Krishnamoorthi and Lauren Underwood. So far, Kelly and Stratton have formalized their campaigns for the office. Stratton has the support of Governor J.B. Pritzker and the state’s other Senator, Tammy Duckworth. No major candidates have yet launched campaigns for the Republican nomination.

Two heavily Democratic districts in Illinois’ delegation to the U.S. House will now have open contests in 2026. No one has yet entered the race to succeed Kelly in the 2nd District. Possible candidates in the Democratic primary include Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller and State Senator Robert Peters. More could soon decide to run as well.

Under the current lines, Democrat Kamala Harris won Illinois’ 2nd Congressional District with a 65.9-32.8 finish against Republican Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. That came as Harris was carrying the state 54.4-43.5 in her ultimately unsuccessful national campaign. On the same ballot, Kelly outran the top of the ticket 67.6-32.4 to be re-elected against Republican Ashley Ramos for her final term in the U.S. House.