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. It's a position he says has helped him reap billions of dollars of federal funds and other benefits for Illinois.

But his Republican challenger, state Sen. Jim Oberweis, a dairy owner, 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.

As the two face off in November, Oberweis acknowledges it'll take a significant Republican tide for him to unseat the Senate's second-ranking Democrat.

Oberweis tells The Associated Press that things need to move in a different direction, while Durbin says he wants to continue working to "lift up" the middle class.