candidate for the Illinois State Senate in 1976. He ran for lieutenant governor in 1978 as the running mate of State Superintendent of Schools Michael Bakalis. They were defeated by Republican incumbents Jim Thompson and Dave O'Neal. Durbin then worked as an adjunct professor at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine for five years while maintaining his law practice. U.S. House of Representatives In 1982, Durbin won the Democratic nomination for the now-eliminated 20th congressional district, which included Macon and most of Springfield. He scored a 1,400-vote victory, defeating 22-year incumbent Paul Findley, a U.S. Navy veteran, whose district lines had been substantially redrawn to remove rural farms and add economically depressed Macon, replacing 35% of the voters and including more Democrats as part of the decennial redistricting. Durbin's campaign emphasized unemployment and financial difficulties facing farmers, and told voters that electing him would send "a message to Washington and to President Reagan that our economic policies are not working." Durbin benefited from donations by pro-Israel groups, especially AIPAC, that opposed Findley's advocacy on behalf of the Palestine Liberation Organization in the year before the election. Durbin was reelected six times, rarely facing serious opposition, and winning more than 55% of the vote in each election except 1994. U.S. Senate In 1996, Durbin defeated Pat Quinn to become the Democratic nominee to replace the retiring incumbent, Senator Paul Simon, a longtime friend. He faced Republican State Representative Al Salvi in the general election. Although the election had been expected to be competitive, Durbin benefited from Bill Clinton's 18-point win in Illinois that year and defeated Salvi by 15 points. He was reelected in 2002, 2008, 2014 and 2020, each time by at least 10 points. Committees Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Committee on the Judiciary (chair) Subcommittee on the Constitution Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Caucus memberships Bi-Cameral High-Speed & Intercity Passenger Rail Caucus Caucus on International Narcotics Control (co-chair) International Conservation Caucus Senate Diabetes Caucus Senate Hunger Caucus (co-chair) Senate Science, Technology, Engineering, and