The Senate Democratic whip and the leading Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, Senator Dick Durbin, D-Ill., has said he will not run for reelection in 2026.
The news was made in a video statement on X Wednesday by Durbin, 80, who was originally elected to the Senate in 1996.
"The decision of whether to run for re-election has not been easy," Durbin stated.
Being a United States Senator is a profession that I genuinely enjoy. I know deep down that it's time to pass the torch, though. Therefore, I am declaring today that I will not run for reelection at the conclusion of my current term.
Before taking over his mentor, Paul Simon, in the Senate in 1996, he was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time in 1982 and served seven terms.
Durbin has long supported immigration reform including the DREAM (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) Act, which would give illegal immigrants who were brought to the US as minors a route to citizenship.
In addition, he supports the Affordable Care Act and calls for tougher gun regulations.
Durbin is the representative for the firmly Democratic state of Illinois. It is anticipated that his departure would spark a frenzy of activity among a number of potential successors, both Republican and Democratic. But since 1984, the GOP has only won two Senate seats for six-year terms.
Other Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth praised Durbin's congressional career thus far.
"Dick Durbin is a titan of the US Senate and always will be. We are all better off because he has devoted his life to strengthening our state and our country," Duckworth added.
When her Black Hawk chopper was shot down in Iraq in 2004, Duckworth also recounted meeting Durbin for the first time a few weeks after losing both legs. She praised his compassion and guidance during her recuperation.
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