CHICAGO (WLS) — The Illinois Primary is just over a month away.

It will be the first step in electing several new members to the state’s Congressional delegation.

Longtime Senator Dick Durbin is retiring. Congresswoman Robin Kelly in the second district and Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi in the eighth are running for Durbin’s Senate seat.

In the Chicago area there are five open House seats.

Meanwhile, incumbents Jesus "Chuy" Garcia in the fourth district, Danny Davis in the 7th and Jan Schakowsky in the 9th are all retiring.

"This is pretty unusual," says Twyla Blackmond, associate professor of political science at Loyola University, "There’s a lot of open seats and a lot of open seats that are being contested on both sides."

She says voters are going to have a lot of options.

2026 primary elections: Click here for voter information in Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin

"They’re going to have to take a bit more time to understand the different elections and candidates and really kind of consider their choices," she said.

Durbin, Davis and Schakowsky have had long tenures in Congress, meaning they’ve also made many connections over the years that the newcomers will not.

"The loss of institutional knowledge would be a disadvantage to the party. However, there are many individuals and voters who would like to see some big changes in the Democratic party. And that comes with new faces new voices and new ideas," Blackmond said.

So, how will this "new guard" compare to the "old guard" even if they’re members of the same party?

"I think that we can see that a lot of the newcomers as well as like younger voters, more liberal or leftist voters, really want to see the Democrats just be a little bit more assertive and aggressive in their politics," she said.

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