Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi announces Senate bid

CHICAGO — Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi announced Wednesday that he is entering the race to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin.

Krishnamoorthi announced the Senate bid in a social media post shared early Thursday morning.

“I’ve spent my life standing up to bullies like Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Now I’m running for the U.S. Senate to make America work for working people,” Krishnamoorthi said.

Krishnamoorthi, who was raised in Peoria and has represented Illinois’ 8th congressional district since 2017.

“Senator Dick Durbin is a titan who will go down as one of the most effective and dedicated public servants in Illinois history. I am deeply humbled by the encouragement I have received from friends, family members, and community leaders encouraging me, a fellow son of downstate, to run for the U.S. Senate,” Krishnamoorthi said in a news release announcing his bid.

Krishnamoorthi joins two others vying to fill the seat the retiring senator will leave behind.

On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly announced her bid for Senate. The announcement came just days after Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, who has already received endorsements from Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Sen. Tammy Duckworth, announced her campaign.

A day after Kelly announced her bid, U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi announced that was also entering the race to succeed Durbin.

Durbin, the Senate minority whip and the longest serving senator in Illinois’ history, announced that he would not seek a sixth term in office back in April.