As Dick Durbin ponders whether to seek reelection to a sixth term in the U.S. Senate, the veteran Democrat reported spending $776 in the Senate’s gift shop in the first three months of the year for presents to supporters.

There’s no indication those were retirement gifts on his first-quarter campaign funding statement filed with the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday.

But by reporting raising only $42,695 between Jan. 1 and March 31, the 80-year-old Durbin renewed questions about whether he will be a candidate on the March 2026 primary ballot.

Durbin, who has served in the Senate since 1997, has said he will make public his decision about running for reelection “soon.”

And in serving as the No. 2 Democrat in the chamber and as Democratic whip for a decade, he would be expected to have no problem quickly raising big dollars and a clear path to renomination.

However, the falloff in fundraising in the last two quarters has been notable, raising speculation that his current term might be his last.

The state’s senior senator and ranking member of the chamber’s Judiciary Committee began September with nearly $1.85 million in the bank, but he spent $282,947 of that while raising only $110,040 in the final three months of last year.

The $1.67 million he had to start the year has now dipped to $1.63 million as of April 1 after he spent more than he raised for the second consecutive quarter.

In contrast, in the same quarter in 2019, before his 2020 reelection to a fifth term, Durbin raised $512,879 and spent $92,972, leaving him at the time with more than $2.4 million in campaign cash, FEC records showed.

Durbin campaign aides said the Democrat is still fundraising.

“He has been actively helping out his colleagues that are in (the election) cycle, has scheduled his annual Prairie PAC weekend in Chicago this June, is sending out digital fundraising asks on a normal schedule, and held his latest public fundraising event on March 24th in D.C.,” a campaign spokesperson said in a statement.

While the $1.63 million Durbin now has on hand remains a significant sum, it is dwarfed by some congressional Illinois Democrats who are viewed as prospective candidates for the seat should Durbin not seek reelection, the first-quarter FEC reports show.

Tops among them in cash is five-term U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg. A voracious fundraiser, Krishnamoorthi reported a campaign war chest of $19.4 million as of April 1 after raising nearly $3.1 million in the first quarter of the year, while he spent $761,000.

U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly of Matteson, who has served in the House since 2013, reported having just more than $2 million in her campaign bank account after raising $186,219 and spending $194,936 in the first three months of the year.

Four-term U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood of Naperville raised $392,828 in the first quarter of the year, while spending $336,143. That left her with $1.1 million in cash on hand at the start of April, records show.

Juliana Stratton, who has served as the state’s two-term lieutenant governor under Gov. JB Pritzker, has announced her interest in Durbin’s seat if he decides not to run.

In late January, she formed a federal political action committee called Level Up, which could be used to assist her in a Senate campaign.

No report on funding amounts was available from the FEC for the first quarter of the year.

Stratton, who has served as a state lawmaker, has sought to increase her public visibility and boosted staffing in recent weeks as she awaits the decision from Durbin.

A report for the quarter filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections showed she has been spending down her state campaign fund, which could not be used to help pay for a Senate race.

Among the more than $232,000 she spent from January through March was more than $98,000 in digital advertising from a Washington, D.C.-based firm, her state report showed.

Pritzker, who has not announced whether he will seek a third term next year, is a billionaire who has largely self-funded his two previous campaigns and spent $350 million.

His first quarter report showed he had $3.4 million in his campaign fund while he spent nearly $710,000. About half of the spending by Pritzker, who is also considering a possible 2028 presidential bid, was associated with various consulting firms and vendors, his state campaign report showed.

The only announced Republican candidate for governor so far, DuPage County Sheriff Jim Mendrick, reported $76,000 in cash on hand after raising more than $9,200 while spending more than $20,640 in the first quarter of the year.

Mendrick’s campaign fund began the year with $87,377, and he announced his bid for governor in February.

Since April 1, Mendrick has raised another $17,500, including $1,000 from his chief deputy, Mark Garcia, state records showed.

Aaron Del Mar, Palatine Township’s highway commissioner, also has expressed interest in the GOP nomination for governor.

Del Mar, who ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in the 2022 primary, reported having more than $7,800 available after raising more than $3,000 and spending $450, state records show.