The 66-year-old’s unexpected decision Tuesday to step aside after just two terms comes as a surprise and poses a challenge for Democrats in Michigan during a turbulent period, likely dividing their strong bench between the gubernatorial and Senate races in 2026.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Texas and Florida are growing rapidly. California, Illinois and New York are shrinking. With America’s population shifting to the South, political influence is seeping from reliably Democratic states to areas controlled by Republicans. Coming out of a presidential election where they lost all seven swing states, Democrats are facing a demographic challenge that could reduce their path to winning the U.S. House of Representatives or the White House for the long term.

Chuck Schumer faced no opposition in the party leadership elections, in which Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin was also reelected to the No. 2 spot and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar became the new No. 3. 

On the last day ballots will be counted, unofficial totals in Chicago show where the vote shifted since 2020. Much like the United States, voters in Illinois were driven by factors including economics, immigration and education in the presidential race.

A unified Republican grip on Washington would set the course for Trump’s agenda. Or if Democrats wrest control of the House, it would provide an almost certain backstop, with veto power over the White House.

As a Republican wave swept across the country, Illinois Democrats are set to maintain their veto-proof majorities in the state legislature, even with a handful of races still too close to call as of Wednesday morning.

For many young women, their liberal identity is not just a new label. The share of young women who hold liberal views on the environment, abortion, race relations and gun laws has also jumped by double digits, Gallup found.

Democratic legislators sounded the alarm in a letter Thursday to Mayor Brandon Johnson and urged him to “act swiftly.”

WTTW News reporters are spread out across Chicago covering the 2024 Democratic National Convention and Illinois’ delegation. Check back throughout the day for continuous updates.

Labor leaders tried to draw a sharp contrast Wednesday between Democrats and Republicans at the Illinois delegation’s breakfast on the third day of the Democratic National Convention — saying the GOP and Donald Trump aren’t on the side of working people.

WTTW News reporters are spread out across Chicago covering the 2024 Democratic National Convention and Illinois’ delegation. Check back throughout the day for continuous updates.

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Georgia) on Wednesday stopped by the Illinois delegation breakfast.

WTTW News reporters are spread out across Chicago covering the 2024 Democratic National Convention and Illinois’ delegation. Check back throughout the day for continuous updates.

The first mayor of a major American city to back her surprise bid for the presidency, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson called Vice President Kamala Harris a “visionary leader” capable of defeating “the threat of another Trump presidency.”

With President Joe Biden having addressed delegates, the week’s full focus now turns to Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, as the party and its leaders aim to argue why their new nominee is best suited to be in the White House over the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump.

WTTW News reporters are spread out across Chicago covering the 2024 Democratic National Convention and Illinois’ delegation. Check back throughout the day for continuous updates.