CHICAGO (AP) — U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin’s more than three decades in Washington have helped him become one of the most powerful Democrats on Capitol Hill — a position he says has helped him reap billions of dollars of federal funds and other valuable benefits for Illinois.

His Republican challenger, state Sen. Jim Oberweis, a dairy owner and investment manager, says Durbin’s lengthy tenure also makes him a “career politician” who’s out-of-touch with voters and clueless about how to create jobs in the private sector.