It doesn’t take a political expert to realize the Illinois race for the U.S. Senate is drawing a very quick end.

With incumbent Democrat Dick Durbin currently projecting a roughly 12-point lead in the race, barring a monumental shift in state voting patterns, it seems the writing is on the wall for challenging Republican Jim Oberweis.

There’s a reason for that: Dick Durbin deserves six more years as a senator.

Durbin, who served in the U.S. House from 1983 to 1997 and in the U.S. Senate from 1997 to 2014, is often touted as a career politician.

And while that term—“career politician”—is usually pejorative in nature, used to undermine life-long Capitol Hillers for constant campaigning or stagnancy, Durbin’s legislative record proves himself a friend of the average Illinoisan.

In his most recent term, Durbin has consistently fought to curb the rampant cost of tuition, fees and room and board at public universities, sponsoring legislation to ensure federal money goes to hard-working and needy students, not exploitive institutions or special interests.

As college students who often feel the financial burdens of ever-rising college costs, it is absolutely imperative we know we have a voice on Capitol Hill. Durbin has been that voice, and not just for college students, but for working-class Americans as a whole.

He has long-supported the middle class, often fighting for action that would help curb drastic income inequality and disparities.

He’s repeatedly stood with President Obama in the fight to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, to lessen pay disparities between men and women, and has been a vocal leader in  stopping corporate tax evasion through reincorporation overseas.

His challenger, Sen. Jim Oberweis, has proposed a minimum-wage hike as well, but only for workers in their mid-20s and older. Oberweis’ plan would gradually increase the minimum wage to $10-an-hour by 2017 for workers 26 and older, and while such legislation is indeed commendable, it still neglects an already-vulnerable portion of the workforce, namely young parents already struggling to provide for their families.

All in all, Durbin’s record reflects a seasoned politician who understands the minutia and processes of power in Washington.

As Senate Majority Whip, Durbin has been one of only a few bright spots in a highly partisan and gridlocked Congress, and while Durbin has committed his fair-share of partisan bickering, he has still remained steadfastly committed to helping average Americans rather than special interests or extreme faction groups.

And with most polls indicating a Republican-takeover of the Senate this November that will likely mean more gridlock and stagnation, it’s important Illinoisans elect someone who not only understands how to operate in a highly-partisan environment, but has the interests of Illinois voters as his foremost agenda.

That person is Dick Durbin.