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…
