Senator Dick Durbin, the senior senator from Illinois, is 80-years-old and still has about 18 months left on his current term in office. Today he announced he will not be running for another term in 2026, but said he does plan to finish out his current term. Durbin said it was time to “face reality.”
Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Senate Democrat for two decades and a leading liberal voice on Capitol Hill, will not seek re-election next year, closing out a 44-year congressional career focused on immigration, the federal justice system and anti-smoking initiatives…
In an interview revealing his plans, Mr. Durbin, who is in his fifth Senate term, said it was not an easy choice to step away from his prime perch doing battle with President Trump, whom he considers a dire threat to democracy. He described moments in recent days “where I thought, ‘Man, I don’t want to miss this fight.’”
“But you know,” he continued, “I have to be honest about this. 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.”
Durbin may be eager to continue the fight against Trump, but some of his constituents are less enthusiastic after he joined Republicans to pass a continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown.
Last month, Durbin drew uncharacteristically harsh criticism from a coalition of prominent Democratic-aligned groups. That group, which included the Chicago Federation of Labor, the abortion-rights group Personal PAC, Equality Illinois and others, said it was “profoundly disappointed” in his vote for a continuing budget resolution sought by the Trump administration to keep the federal government from shutting down.
Durbin was first elected to the Senate in 1996. Before that he was first elected to the House in 1982. In another interview he made it clear that his age was the obvious factor in his decision not to run again.
A major reason for his decision boiled down to one thing: his age. By the time a sixth term would end, Durbin would be 88.
“It’s time,” Illinois’ 80-year-old senior senator said. “You observe your colleagues and watch what happens. For some of them, there’s this miraculous aging process where they never seem to get too old…
“But for a number of other people, they’re not so lucky,” he continued. “So, you watch aging, and I try to gauge it to the point where I can walk out the front door. I don’t have to be carried out. I feel that way now. I’m physically and mentally strong. But I don’t want to wait too long and test fate.”
He doesn’t mention the names of the people who are not-so-lucky, i.e. the people who stick around for too long but it’s not hard to imagine he was thinking about his former Senate colleague Joe Biden who announced he would run for a 2nd term as president when it was already clear he was struggling with age-related decline.
Durbin’s exit will set off a crowded race to fill his open seat. He’s already heard from at least a dozen people interested in running.
Expect Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Rep. Lauren Underwood to launch bids within hours and days of Sen. Dick Durbin’s announcement that he will not seek reelection in the Senate, a seat he has held since winning his first term in 1996.
In an Illinois exclusive interview with WBEZ on Tuesday, Durbin said more than a dozen people have expressed interest in his seat.
“There are at least a dozen names that I think are serious,” Durbin said. “…There is a larger number that has approached me and said they might be interested in it so I don’t want to rule anyone in or out at this point.”
Durbin doesn’t plan to endorse a successor and is happy to let the various candidates fight it out on their own.
As the Democratic Whip, Durbin is the #2 Democrat in the Senate and also the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee. So his retirement will also shuffle the Senate leadership, but not until after the midterms.
…in the Senate, the race to replace Durbin will set off a leadership scramble that won’t be formalized until after next year’s midterms and through a secret ballot of Democratic senators. There are several Democrats who could seek the whip position, setting them up to be a potential successor to Schumer.
Those viewed as potential candidates include Sens. Brian Schatz, Amy Klobuchar and Patty Murray. But others could make their interests known.
He’s already being praised by potential successors.
Sen. Brian Schatz, who we’ve reported is interested in succeeding Durbin as Senate Democratic whip, has this lengthy statement paying tribute to Durbin as he announces his retirement. pic.twitter.com/s39zLWJP40
— Andrew Desiderio (@AndrewDesiderio) April 23, 2025
Whether it’s standing up for judges and the rule of law, or Dreamers and medical research, Senator Durbin has been a champion for Illinois and our entire nation. Thank you for your years of leadership and service Dick!
Photo courtesy of Roll Call pic.twitter.com/Rj3wiWOcKW
— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) April 23, 2025
But of course not everyone is sad to see him go.
Good. Now do @chuckschumer https://t.co/61SoIDrDYY
— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) April 23, 2025
Some on the right are today remembering his decision to block a subpoena of Jeffrey Epstein’s flight logs.
Details: https://t.co/g2RYxj1U38
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) April 23, 2025
Here’s the video announcement Durbin posted on X:
The decision of whether to run for re-election has not been easy. I truly love the job of being a United States Senator.
But in my heart, I know it’s time to pass the torch.
So, I am announcing today that I will not be seeking re-election at the end of my term. pic.twitter.com/eiBTPjToFT
— Senator Dick Durbin (@SenatorDurbin) April 23, 2025
