Gianno Caldwell considers Illinois Senate bid for 2026 election cycle

Republican public safety advocate Gianno Caldwell is mulling a bid for the open Illinois Senate seat in 2026 amid growing conversations about crime in America’s cities.

Earlier this month, Caldwell was the keynote speaker at the Illinois Republican Party’s Republican Day event at the state fair, where he touted his record on law and order. Caldwell’s brother, Christian, was killed in 2022 in a Chicago drive-by shooting at the age of 18.

“I’ve been about this fight for many years, public service, I’ve worked in every level of government that you can imagine and certainly I think there’s time for a law-and-order U.S. Senate candidate to come to the forefront in Illinois,” said Caldwell, a Fox News contributor and founder of the Caldwell Institute for Public Safety.

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“My brother’s legacy has become my mission and to save lives,” Caldwell said. “And if that’s something that I can continue in a U.S. Senate seat, that’s worth considering for the many lives that have been lost and the legacies that need to be furthered in the state of Illinois and my home city of Chicago.”

Caldwell’s hometown of Chicago is getting renewed attention as President Donald Trump wants to take National Guard and federal agent deployment to lower crime nationwide following the takeover of policing in Washington DC. Both cities have dealt with violent crime woes, which have led to teens and children dying in numerous tragic cases.

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“My brother’s murder was something that I thought needed to have a conversation to address what has been going on in Chicago,” Caldwell said. “So this impacted me in a very deep and personal way. And when I think about what President Trump is doing by saying, ‘Look, we’re doing this in DC already. We want to take this to other places around the country, I applaud him. Why? Because people have been begging for change in the city of Chicago.”

Caldwell spoke even as a backlash has grown from Democrats who have said that the heavy law enforcement presence in the nation’s capital is over-the-top.

“American soldiers and airmen policing American citizens on American soil is #UnAmerican,” Mayor Muriel Bowser posted to X last week.

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Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, is retiring in 2026, busting the race wide open on both sides of the aisle.

“The decision of whether to run for re-election has not been easy. I truly love the job of being a United States Senator. But in my heart, I know it’s time to pass the torch. So, I am announcing today that I will not be seeking re-election at the end of my term,” Durbin, 80, said in an April video.