Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Senate Democrat for two decades and a leading liberal voice on Capitol Hill, announced today (April 23) that he would not seek re-election next year, closing out a 44-year congressional career focused on immigration, the federal justice system, and anti-smoking initiatives. According to the New York Times, the decision was widely expected and will immediately touch off a crowded competition for a rare Senate vacancy in his solidly blue state.
Durbin entered Congress in 1983, and as a junior member of that chamber, led the drive to ban smoking on airplanes, helping to usher in the smoke-free movement with legislation signed by President Ronald Reagan in 1988.
“That has to be the most significant thing I’ve done in terms of changing America,” Durbin said. “I was trying to get away from a health hazard, and I ended up reaching a tipping point on tobacco in America. I didn’t see that coming.”
After winning a Senate seat in 1996, Durbin famously kept the tobacco and nicotine industry in his crosshairs. Motivated by the death of his father due to smoking, Durbin was a leading advocate for the Tobacco Control Act that gave the FDA authority over tobacco products and championed the federal lawsuit that resulted in a historic verdict that painted the major tobacco companies as racketeers who lied to the public for decades. In recent years, he turned his attention to e-cigarettes and flavored tobacco products.
In 2022, the American Vapor Manufacturers Association (AVM) requested that the Senate Ethics Committee investigate Durbin for allegedly violating Senate rules by attempting to improperly influence the FDA’s scientific decisions about vaping products. The organization alleged Durbin pressured the FDA to ban all vaping products despite the agency’s premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) review process.
At the time, Tobacco Reporter wrote, “Citing Durbin’s track record (urging the FDA to ban vapor products via letters, Senate floor speeches, press releases and private meetings) the AVM says it believes Durbin attempted ‘to interfere with and influence the outcome of an ongoing executive branch agency review process in violation of Senate Ethics rules.’”
The AVM did not hold back with Durbin’s retirement news, saying today on X, “Durbin exits, leaving a trail of ash and arrogance. His intransigent, science-denying vendetta against vaping doomed countless smokers to misery. May his name be etched in infamy: the public health saboteur who’d rather outlaw hope than face facts.”
Several Illinois Democrats have indicated an interest in running if the seat opened up and have been readying for a potential candidacy. It is likely to be one of several highly competitive primaries in both parties over the next 18 months, as Democrats embark on an uphill slog to reclaim the Senate majority and Republicans grasp to hold on to it.
