Dick Durbin, the Senate’s longtime second-ranking Democrat, announced plans to retire at the end of next year, sparking a succession scramble to fill his powerful leadership position in the chamber, as well as a crowded primary in Illinois.
Durbin, 80, had long been expected to retire, having served in the chamber since 1996 and as the Senate Democratic whip since 2005, a position that gave him clout with the party’s leader as chief deputy to the late Harry Reid and now with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer.
