Sources: Republican Porter Expected to Enter U.S. Senate Race
Former RNC National Committeeman Richard Porter at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in 2024. (Photo: Chicago Tribune)
NOTE: This story was originally posted for subscribers only. To receive subscriber-only newsletters and content, click here.
Multiple Republican sources say former RNC National Committeeman Richard Porter is likely to enter the U.S. Senate race in the coming weeks, giving Republicans potentially their best chance to win a Senate race in the state in sixteen years.
Porter spent 31 years as an attorney with Chicago firm Kirkland & Ellis, but served in the White House under former Vice President Dan Quayle and for the Treasury Department in the late 80’s and early 90’s.
“He’s a lock,” said one Republican consultant. “He’s definitely running.”
Porter has long been considered an “establishment” Republican who supported Donald Trump in his first term and supported Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in the 2024 presidential primary. He has since been one of Trump’s top defenders in the state. (We discussed it with him in a podcast last year at the RNC.)
When reached Wednesday morning, Porter declined comment.
“If Democrats go as far to the left as possible, this race could absolutely be competitive,” a top Republican official told The Illinoize Tuesday. “Richard is a very credible, likeable, and brilliant guy. He could win this seat under the right circumstances.”
Porter had been flirting with a run for Governor before Sen. Dick Durbin announced his plans to retire.
There’s no timeline for when Porter may enter the race, but he previously said he’d decide on running for Governor or Senate in “June or July.”
