Senate’s No. 2 Democrat Dick Durbin to Retire at End of Term
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Senator Dick Durbin, the second-ranking Democrat in the chamber, announced Wednesday he will not seek reelection next year, setting off a contest to succeed him as a new generation of party leaders emerge.
Durbin, 80, was first elected to the US House in 1982 amid a midterm backlash against then-President Ronald Reagan. He has since been at the center of decades-long fights over immigration and criminal justice policies, stretching over five terms in the Senate. As a House member, he led a successful push to ban smoking on flights.