Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois has introduced his bid to run for Senate in 2026, confirming speculations that he would be a part of the shortly increasing area of main opponents trying to win the secure Democratic seat left open by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Unwell., who’s retiring on the finish of his time period.
In an interview with ABC Information, the five-term congressman mentioned he is operating on a document of confronting “bullies” like Donald Trump and is keenly targeted on opposing the efforts by the Division of Authorities Effectivity and Elon Musk to slash federal businesses, applications and jobs.
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi walks down the Home steps after final votes within the Capitol, March 27, 2025.
Invoice Clark/CQ-Roll Name, Inc through Getty Photographs
“I’ve a monitor document of standing as much as Donald Trump in Congress. I voted for impeaching him twice, however I additionally … performed a giant position within the first impeachment hearings on Capitol Hill,” mentioned Krishnamoorthi, who entered the Home in 2016, now serves as the highest Democrat on the Home China choose committee on the Chinese language Communist Celebration and is a senior member of the Intelligence and Oversight committees.
“However I’ve a monitor document of standing as much as numerous bullies, whether or not it is the e-cigarette firms that prey on our youth and attempt to hook them on vapes or it is Purdue prescription drugs that attempt to hook a era to Oxycontin. I’ve gone in spite of everything of them. They put a goal on my again, however I acquired outcomes, and now we’d like outcomes with Donald Trump, Elon Musk and DOGE,” he added.
Krishnamoorthi added that he’s operating to combat for the financial prosperity of Illinoisans who’re “struggling beneath the financial chaos unleashed by Donald Trump, Elon Musk and DOGE.”
“We have to focus like a laser on their financial issues proper now, even on the similar time that we’re standing as much as Donald Trump,” he advised ABC Information.
Krishnamoorthi’s bid will kick off with three marketing campaign stops on Friday as he “vows to ‘get up and combat again’ towards Trump’s agenda. The congressman, who represents a lot of Chicago’s northwestern suburbs, will make stops in his hometown of Peoria, Illinois, and in Schaumburg, Illinois, the place he presently lives.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Unwell., is seen on the Capitol in Washington, Nov. 14, 2024.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
“My roots are in Peoria. I characterize the suburbs. I’ve labored within the metropolis for a few years. So I wish to attempt to hint that journey that I’ve had in Illinois but additionally converse to as many individuals as attainable throughout Illinois,” he advised ABC Information.
In an announcement video launched on Wednesday, Krishnamoorthi known as the actions occurring inside the White Home “madness” and recommended that he’s a Democrat who can “combat again” towards the Trump administration. The Democratic Celebration is grappling with questions over its political course following the startling lack of all three branches of presidency throughout the 2024 elections.
“Individuals wish to know, at this second, on this time, the place is the ability to combat again? What does it appear like?” Krishnamoorthi mentioned within the video. “Nicely, I will inform you: It seems such as you and also you and also you, all of us prepared to face up and combat again. I spent my life standing as much as bullies, preventing for on a regular basis individuals. So I will by no means be quiet whereas billionaires like Elon Musk and a convicted felon deny the desires of the following era for their very own egos and private revenue. That is why I am operating for america Senate.”
The Harvard College-educated lawyer who obtained his undergraduate diploma in mechanical engineering from Princeton College was born in central Illinois to Indian immigrants.
Forward of his election to Congress, Krishnamoorthi served in quite a lot of state roles and as a coverage director within the Obama administration. In his announcement video launched on Wednesday, the congressman referred to himself as “Raja” and referenced the truth that former President Barack Obama, too, had an ethnically ambiguous sounding title, saying, “I labored on a good friend’s marketing campaign who confirmed that Illinois will provide you with a shot even when you’ve got a humorous title. And impressed by Barack’s instance, I used to be elected to Congress.”
“Sure, I do know the title is lengthy, so like at all times, simply name me Raja,” he concluded the video.
Krishnamoorthi, one of many front-runners within the already hotly contested race, has amassed over a $19 million battle chest forward of his launch, with a shocking $3 million raised in simply the primary three months of 2025.
His bid comes after Durbin introduced in April that he wouldn’t search a sixth time period. Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton jumped within the race lower than 48 hours after Durbin’s announcement and shortly earned the endorsements of billionaire Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Illinois’ different senator, Tammy Duckworth.
“On the finish of the day, an important factor is I get the endorsement from the individuals of Illinois,” Krishnamoorthi advised ABC Information when requested about his posture among the many already crowded main area.
“They should have their say. … We have to be sure that the method performs out, unfolds, that they can kick the tires and assess who they wish to rent to characterize them within the U.S. Senate, and I will do the whole lot in my energy to earn their help,” he added.
Krishnamoorthi’s announcement additionally comes only a day after his colleague, Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Unwell., declared her personal bid for the seat. In an announcement video posted on Tuesday, Kelly introduced up how in Congress, she doesn’t get up throughout moments of silence to mark mass shootings as a result of, she mentioned, “moments of silence in Congress simply aren’t going to chop it anymore.”
Congresswoman Robin Kelly (D-IL) questions a witness throughout a Home Democratic Steering and Coverage Committee assembly on Medicaid in Washington, DC on March 6, 2025.
Nathan Posner/Anadolu through Getty Photographs
Kelly can be the previous Illinois Democratic Celebration chairwoman and a member of Home Minority Chief Hakeem Jeffries’ management group. It is reported that Rep. Lauren Underwood, who can be a member of Jeffries’ management circle, remains to be exploring a run for the seat.
Krishnamoorthi advised ABC Information that his document, paired along with his capacity to “get up” to Trump distinctly, makes him uniquely positioned for the position.
“I feel that your monitor document issues. I feel that the range of your experiences, plus … the place you come from, I feel that issues,” he mentioned. “I feel that almost all of all, who’s going to be the best at standing as much as Donald Trump but additionally delivering for constituents?”
Durbin mentioned he would not plan on endorsing any specific candidate however is just not ruling out the chance in an “excessive case.”
“I hope I do not need to,” Durbin mentioned.
Nonetheless, Krishnamoorthi linked himself to Durbin as he launched his bid for Senate on Wednesday, lauding him as a “titan” who was a “fellow son of downstate.”
“Senator Dick Durbin is a titan who will go down as one of the efficient and devoted public servants in Illinois historical past. I’m deeply humbled by the encouragement I’ve obtained from buddies, relations, and group leaders encouraging me, a fellow son of downstate, to run for the U.S. Senate,” Krishnamoorthi mentioned in a press release asserting his candidacy.
