Durbin re-elected, says race was toughest of his career

Incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin won a fourth term Tuesday in a race he called the toughest of his career.

"What the lesson is for tonight is ... that people across Illinois and the nation want more from Congress," Durbin said. "They want a Congress that produces."

Durbin's opponent, Republican state Sen. Jim Oberweis, conceded early in the evening Tuesday.

"I told him I'd do anything to help him if that need ever occurred," Oberweis said during his concession speech in Glen Ellyn early Tuesday night. "We did everything we could to hold Dick Durbin accountable."

With nearly 98 percent of the state's precincts reporting, Durbin held a 53 percent lead over Oberweis and Libertarian Sharon Hansen.

Oberweis had name-recognition as chairman of the popular dairy chain and as a state senator, but it failed to make substantial inroads into the Springfield Democrat's broad base in Chicago and downstate.

Durbin is the second highest-ranking Democrat in the Senate. However, he'll head back to a U.S. Capitol in a Washington, D.C., that is now controlled in both chambers by the GOP.

Oberweis pounded Durbin frequently, criticizing his longevity as a senator, and linking him to economic problems hitting Illinoisans.

"The average family has lost $5,053 on average because of Dick Durbin's policies," Oberweis said at an Oct. 29 debate.

Durbin hit back, questioning Oberweis' loyalty to Illinois, because his wife lives part-time in Florida, and tying him to the Tea Party.

"The Tea Party has wrecked Capitol Hill and my opponent has embraced it," said Durbin at an Oct. 22 debate.

While Durbin's war chest was $6.5 million in July, Oberweis had $862,132, according to Federal Election Commission records. Oberweis also loaned his campaign $1 million and didn't attract major contributions from GOP sources.

Durbin also ran an error-free campaign and is popular in Chicago and the suburbs, despite his downstate roots.