Politics
US Rep. Robin Kelly Lays Out Her Pitch to Voters as Senate Campaign Begins
The race to replace retiring Sen. Dick Durbin is heating up.
Two weeks after the 80-year-old announced he would not seek a sixth term in office, three serious candidates have already launched campaigns. The growing field includes Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton and two U.S. Congress members, south suburban U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly and northwest suburban U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi. Two other congressmen, Democrat Lauren Underwood and Republican Darin LaHood, are also seriously considering entering the race.
The moving chairs means big changes for Illinois politics, as those campaigning for Senate would have to give up their congressional seats. Adding to the seismic shift in Illinois’ political landscape was longtime U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky’s announcement last week that she’ll also be stepping down.
Kelly joined “Chicago Tonight” to discuss the changes coming to Illinois politics and her candidacy for the U.S. Senate.
Kelly has been in Congress since 2013 and highlighted what she views as her major accomplishments.
“I’ve worked on health care issues,” Kelly said. “It was our work that led Medicaid coverage going from sixty days to a year, and that will definitely save lives. I’ve done a lot of work on gun violence prevention. And I’ve done consumer protection bills.”
Besides continuing her work on health care and combatting gun violence, Kelly says if she wins, she will prioritize fighting the Trump administration and Vice President JD Vance.
Kelly’s election opponents have formidable resources –Krishnamoorthi has some $20 million in his campaign fund, and Stratton has the support of Illinois’ billionaire governor.
Despite that, Kelly expressed confidence that she could overcome those hurdles.
“I would not have gotten in the race if I didn’t feel that I could win,” said Kelly.
If Lauren Underwood enters the race, there would be three Black women vying for Durbin’s Senate seat, potentially splitting the reliable Democratic base of Black female voters.
Only five Black women have ever served in the U.S. Senate. Kelly reflected on the challenges Black women still face in politics.
“It’s very difficult, the barriers and the obstacles, what people think we can accomplish,” she said. “But we have accomplished it, when you look at our growing numbers in the House. And we did grow in the Senate, for the first time two Black women serving. We have to keep pushing forward, running for office and stay in the game, get off the sidelines.”
