With Dick Durbin's retirement, where do Democrats go from here?

It has been nearly 30 years since Dick Durbin became an Illinois senator — a lifetime in American politics. But now, at age 80, he has spent 20 years as the Democrats' Senate whip, and his political career is nearing an end after announcing this week he will not seek reelection next year. The senator's looming departure comes at a pivotal time for Democrats. As the party looks ahead to the 2026 midterms, Durbin's retirement marks more than just the end of a political era.

What did the commentators say?

With his exit, Durbin is "solidifying a generational shift" within his party, said Politico, just as many of his colleagues and supporters have "grown more eager — and more vocal — about ushering in younger Democratic leadership." Durbin's retirement will "reverberate in the Senate," at a time when Democrats are embarking on an "uphill slog" to regain the majority, said The New York Times. "There are good people in the wings," Durbin said to the outlet, explaining his decision to leave. He now joins a "growing list" of Democratic senators who are "calling it quits ahead of the 2026 election," Axios said.

Speculation that Durbin would not seek reelection had been "growing for months," The Hill said, "particularly earlier this month" after he reported an anemic fundraising total for the first three months of the year. Durbin's departure opens up the "No. 2 slot in Senate Democratic leadership for the first time in two decades," said The Washington Post. While it gives the Democrats "another seat to defend" in 2026, it also "spares the party the prospect of an older senator running" in an election cycle where many expect a "clamor for younger faces." Durbin himself "clearly was worried" that his retirement would be "taken as a rallying cry" for other aging lawmakers to "hang it up already," said the Chicago Tribune. Instead, he "made clear that was not his intent" by highlighting in his announcement the "ongoing vitality" of his soon-to-be-former colleagues Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

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What next?

Durbin's departure is expected to set off a "flurry of activity" among a "scrum of would-be successors" from both major parties, Fox News said. How his replacement battle shakes out will indicate whether the Democratic party has "learned from its drubbing" in 2024, said The Wall Street Journal. "No moderate" himself, Durbin's retirement will test the appetite of Illinois Democrats for a "more combative leftism, in the style of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)." The race to replace Durbin will have "seismic effects on Illinois politics," WBEZ said, given the "long roster" of Democrats who have been "jockeying since last year to position themselves as his heir apparent." His exit also creates an "opening — albeit a long-shot one" for Republicans to pick up one of Illinois' "genuine plum political posts."

Shortly after Durbin's announcement, Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton became the "first contender" to officially enter what many expect to be a "jam-packed field" of candidates vying to replace him, said NBC News. There are "at least a dozen names that I think are serious," Durbin said to WBEZ, with an even "larger number" who have approached him expressing interest in running. The race could ultimately become an "expensive headache for Senate Democrats," already preparing for bruising primaries in Michigan and Minnesota, Axios said.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.) is expected to replace Durbin as the top-ranking Democrat on the powerful Judiciary Committee, said Politico. Whitehouse is "seen as more combative" and more willing to "play hardball with a cadre of aggressive younger Republicans on the panel."