Illinois Sen. Richard Durbin is retiring at the end of next year after more than four decades in Washington in a move that also will set off a leadership fight among his colleagues in the Senate Democratic caucus.

“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,” the 80-year-old Durbin said in a video posted on April 23 to social media.

Durbin, the longtime second-ranking Democrat in the Senate, was elected to serve in the U.S. Senate in 1996 after spending 14 years in the House. He is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., commented swiftly on the announcement.

“Dick Durbin has been more than a colleague – he’s been a trusted partner, one of the most respected voices in the Senate for decades, my dear friend, and, of course, my former roommate,” Schumer said in a statement, referencing the storied Capitol Hill row house that inspired a Web TV show by Doonesbury cartoonist Garry Trudeau.

Durbin’s retirement leaves an opening in Senate Democratic leadership at a time when the party is searching for new leaders to chart its direction in the wake of the 2024 presidential election, when Republicans kept control of the House and flipped the Senate and White House.

Senators who may put their hat in the ring include Brian Schatz of Hawaii and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who hold other positions in Senate Democratic leadership, and Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the top Democrat on the powerful Appropriations Committee. Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Cory Booker of New Jersey have also positioned themselves as potential next-generation leaders in the chamber.

Durbin’s announcement also kicks off a competitive race among Illinois Democrats seeking to succeed him in the Senate. Potential candidates include Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi, Robin Kelly and Lauren Underwood, and Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton.

While the Illinois Senate seat is likely to stay in Democratic hands given the state’s leftward tilt, Durbin is the fourth Senate Democrat to announce he would not be running for re-election in 2026. New contenders now stand a chance at an open seat in 2026 in Illinois, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Michigan.

A legacy of advocacy, mentorship

Over nearly three decades in the U.S. Senate, Durbin built a reputation as a passionate advocate for Illinois and as a mentor within the Democratic party.

As the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, he has made criminal justice one of his signature issues. He played a key role in reaching a bipartisan compromise in 2018 on the First Step Act, which had been years in the making.

The measure was the first major criminal justice overhaul in decades and aimed at reducing the number of inmates in the nation’s crowded prisons by giving judges more discretion in sentencing offenders for nonviolent crimes, particularly drug offenses, and bolstering rehabilitation programs for former prisoners.

Durbin told USA TODAY in 2018 that his drive to change the system came, in part, from what he called the “worst votes I ever cast.”

In the House, he backed a measure in 1986 that led to tougher sentences for crack dealers than for those trafficking cocaine. The measure was condemned for its disproportionate impact on African Americans, who were more likely to possess crack than the more expensive cocaine. He pledged to try to fix the law.

Durbin has also been a longtime advocate of legislation to protect undocumented people who were brought to the United States as children, known as Dreamers.

Durbin also played a crucial role as a mentor to up-and-coming Democrats seeking higher office.

He met Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., when she was an Army National Guard Blackhawk helicopter pilot in 2005, three months after she had lost her legs in combat.

Durbin encouraged her to get involved in politics, first as an official in the state and federal Veterans Affairs agencies, and later as she ran for House and Senate. “He saw a Soldier in search of her next mission,” Duckworth wrote on X.

Durbin was a friend and mentor to President Barack Obama, who was only four years into his first Senate term when he successfully ran for president in 2008.

And he was a fierce advocate for Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson during her confirmation process in 2022. She is the first Black woman to serve as a U.S. Supreme Court Justice.