Illinois Senator Dick Durbin will not seek re-election in 2026. The Democrat Whip and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee made the announcement on Wednesday, April 23. He can’t cope with the thought of Republicans in control.
Durbin calls it quits
Since Dick Durbin was first elected to the Senate in 1996, conservatives have quipped that his name says it all. Nobody on the right was disappointed when he declared his intention to retire with a video message on social media.
Democrats don’t bother with written statements because none of them can read.
“The decision of whether to run for re-election has not been easy,” Durbin told his followers.
“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.”
The 80-year-old Democrat has been wandering around the halls of Capitol Hill since 1982. That’s when he nailed a seat on the House of Representatives, where he stayed for a full seven terms. Durbin is known for such legislative hits as the DREAM Act.
He’s long been an “advocate for immigration reform” in the form of total amnesty for all.
A chain reaction
Democrats aren’t happy that they’re losing a senator who fought fiercely for “a path to citizenship for illegal aliens brought to the United States as children.” He also worked long and hard for “significantly more stringent gun control legislation.”
Durbin is smart enough to know which way the political wind blows and he sees a storm brewing. None of his favorite things are popular with the voters who elected Donald Trump.
“With his departure,” the media notes, “it’s expected to set off a chain reaction among a group of would-be successors, from both political parties.”
Flipping the seat vacated by Durbin would be a major accomplishment but the odds are against it. “The GOP has only captured a Senate seat just twice for six-years terms since 1984.”
House lawmaker Raja Krishnamoorthi was quick to issue a statement in praise of Durbin, “for his exemplary career of public service as well as the profound and lasting positive impact he’s had on Illinois families and our nation.”
It’s clear that he’s thinking about running for the seat Durbin is leaving open.
