Speaking to reporters outside of his Springfield home, Durbin praised the “strong Democratic bench” that will fight for his seat. Already, Illinois Democratic Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton has launched her candidacy, while multiple House lawmakers are expected to follow suit in the coming days.

“You heard some names already, believe me, you’re going to hear more,” Durbin said.

Durbin declined to hint at his preferred successor when asked if there were any “criteria” important to him, such as ethnicity or gender, but noted the background of his Illinois colleague, Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), as a disabled veteran and Asian American woman.

“I mean, it’s up to the voters to decide what’s right and who the right person is,” Durbin said. “I’m not going to make that decision, but I am confident we’re going to have a diverse group of candidates running for the United States Senate, and it’s going to make a difference.”

Across 20 minutes, Durbin reflected on his four-decade congressional career and the factors that led him to retire. He said the election of President Donald Trump weighed against that calculus but that it was ultimately his age that proved decisive.

“I didn’t think at this point it was the right thing to do,” Durbin, 80, said of running again, citing the “eight-year commitment” that comes with campaign travel and a six-year term. 

“I feel good and strong and healthy and go to work like I’m supposed to, travel back and forth to Washington every week, but I had to project forward,” he added.

Durbin sighed when asked about leaving Congress without passage of the DREAM Act, his signature bill providing a pathway to citizenship for immigrants brought to the country illegally as children, though he promised to “fight” Trump if they get swept up in his mass deportation plan.

“I have a lot of ambitions and things I’d like to see improved in this country. I’ll get a chance to work on some of them before I leave, some of them I won’t,” Durbin said when asked if he had any regrets or frustrations as he retires. “But at some point, you’ve got to come to trust that the next generation will feel as you do, and work hard to get things done.”

In his retirement announcement and again on Thursday, Durbin mentioned a desire to “pass the torch” as younger Democrats clamor for leadership change in the party.

ILLINOIS DEMOCRATS WAIT IN THE WINGS FOR DURBIN 2026 ANNOUNCEMENT

Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, was not asked about his preference in the early race to replace him as Democratic whip. But he did praise Duckworth, who will become the senior senator from Illinois in 2027, while joking that he jump-started her political career.

“I take credit for it. I think I can prove that I discovered her,” Durbin said, noting that he invited her to the State of the Union as his guest in 2005, shortly after she was wounded in combat in Iraq.