Former Lake County sheriff to run for U.S. Senate
Former Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran will seek the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate next year in hopes of challenging Sen. Dick Durbin in the November 2020 election.
Curran said Wednesday he will formally kick off his campaign Aug. 15 at the Illinois State Fair.
Curran, 56, of Libertyville, said he was encouraged to run by people in the state Republican Party, in part because there are concerns no other strong candidates will emerge to oppose Durbin's bid for a fifth term.
"I think you'll basically see I have all the support of the party," he said.
Curran's decision to launch a U.S. Senate bid comes just days after he ended his recount effort in the race for Lake County sheriff. Democrat John Idleburg, 63, of Zion defeated the incumbent Curran by just 137 votes in a race in which more than 245,000 ballots were cast.
Curran described Durbin as a career politician who is more liberal than the state he represents.
"Sen. Durbin has lost touch with Illinoisans," he said. "He has been in Congress far too long. Although Illinois is blue because of Chicago, I don't think it is ultraliberal like Durbin."
Curran first was elected Lake County sheriff in 2006 as a Democrat. He switched to the GOP in 2008 and won re-election in 2010 and 2014.
Four other Republican candidates have declared: Peggy Hubbard, Dean Seppelfrick, Omeed Memar and Robert Marshall, who ran for governor in 2018 as a Democrat.