The future of Illinois politics depends on "if"
We could be in for a campaign like we have never seen before
Although the U.S. Senate race is more than a year away; there are already rumblings about whether current Democratic Majority Whip Sen. Dick Durbin will run for a sixth term. Possibly more importantly are the conversations about who will attempt to replace the man who has been in the Senate since 1996.
Currently, household names, some more prominent than others have pundits guessing about a Durbin successor. There’s speculation that Durbin who turned 80 last year and ascended to the top of the Democratic heap; just might be ready to call it a career. This was talk long before Durbin joined nine other Democrats who refuse to vote in favor of a Republican-led move not to shut down the federal government.
An interesting dynamic is one of the possible candidates is likely to have the financial backing of billionaire Illinois Governor JB Pritzker; and another worked for the venerable Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle. What is considered to be the early line up of potential successors includes an unprecedented cohort of Black female candidates including Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton. Others who have been rumored to seek the seat are U.S. Rep Robin Kelly (2nd); U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood (14th);
A fourth person, U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (8th), is said to be interested in running as well. He ran an unsuccessful campaign in 2010, and again in 2012. The latter was for the 8th District Illinois House seat which he currently holds. He narrowly lost in 2010 for the State Comptroller job against David Miller.
In 2020, he bested Libertarian Preston Nelson by more than 100,000 votes.
Democratic voters will be forced to make tough choices as these potential candidates have wide name recognition and stellar records in their respective roles.
Juliana Stratton- most likely has the strongest statewide name recognition as she has been Illinois Lt. Governor since 2019. Her resume includes a two-year stint in the Illinois House of Representatives from 2017-19.
U.S. Robin Kelly has established the South Side and the South Suburbs as a solid base-having been elected to the Second Congressional District without interruption since2013. She has four years as a State of Illinois Representative, coupled with experience as the Cook County chief administrative officer. Most of her current district has a solid voter turnout history and reputation.
Both women also have strong ties to Chicago’s African-American community-a definite plus when seeking a statewide office.
U.S. Lauren Underwood is the Congressperson for the 14th District which incorporates DeKalb, Joliet, Oswego, Ottawa and Yorkville. She has held that post since 2019. She handily won all of her races, including the first one against a Republican incumbent. At 39 years old, she closely reflects the median age demographic of 36.5 years of her district.
If Durbin decides not to run, and if any of these women are voted into his former seat it will mark the second time an African-American woman represented Illinois in the U.S. Senate. The first was Carol Moseley-Braun who served from 1993-99. It also will mark the first time more than two African-American women are serving in the Senate simultaneously. Currently Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland and Lisa Blount Rochester of Delaware are the only Black female U.S. Senators.
Alsobrooks defeated her Republican opponent by a 12 percentage point margin -1.65 million votes to 1.30 million votes. Blount Rochester had a more impressive margin, garnering 283,298 or 57 percent, compared to 197,752 or 40 percent for her Republican opponent.
Back in Illinois there is always the possibility that another Black woman besides the three named above could jump into the primary.