Cook County Democratic Party Chair Toni Preckwinkle on Wednesday told a packed room of Democrats that both Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Sen. Dick Durbin aren’t quite ready to discuss their reelection plans — decisions that will set in motion a game of high-stakes musical chairs.

“I called them personally myself, and neither of them were prepared at this juncture to appear before the Central Committee,” Preckwinkle said at Day 1 of the party’s preslating session. Statewide candidates, however, are expected to appear for slating sessions in July.

For now, candidates are anxiously awaiting word from both Pritzker and Durbin, but the behind-the-scenes jockeying is in full force. The Democratic governor, who is widely viewed as a potential 2028 presidential contender, would by vying for a third term next year — and it’s unlikely that he would want to leave office as he positions himself as a leader of the Democratic resistance against President Donald Trump.

Durbin, 80, has remained silent about a reelection plan. A spokeswoman on Wednesday said she had no updates on that decision. The senator this week told reporters in East St. Louis that his decision would not be coming this week.

Sen. Dick Durbin has not announced whether he’ll seek another term.

Nevertheless, several potential contenders are ready to jump into the Senate race, and they’re busy fundraising and building up their campaigns, including Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton and U.S. Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Lauren Underwood. Rep. Robin Kelly is also exploring a run.

Krishnamoorthi, who is known for his fundraising prowess, has a whopping $19.4 million in his war chest. Underwood has about $1.1 million, and Kelly has a little more than $2 million cash on hand. Stratton in January launched a federal political action committee to build her political operation and bolster a potential Senate run.

Durbin has about $1.63 million cash on hand, according to Federal Election Commission records.

There are also rumblings that U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky may not seek reelection, which would open up another contested seat. With Underwood and Kelly potentially running for Durbin’s seat, their races would also see new challengers. Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs and Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza could also vie for other elected positions, including Congress, and even the upcoming Chicago mayor’s race.

Former Mayor and U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel last month also said he’s considering his own political future, which could include Illinois races and the presidential race in 2028.

Next year may mark a seismic year in which steady congressional seats are up for grabs. But those races weren’t discussed Wednesday by Cook County Democrats, at least not without some prodding from reporters.

State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, who also serves as 49th Ward committeeperson, said she wants Durbin to announce his decision sooner rather than later to give others a chance to make their case. She said she was open to potential Durbin challengers appearing at the preslating.

“I am absolutely in support of folks getting started and not waiting in line,” Cassidy said. “I always have been, and I do wish that we knew what some of the folks are doing. It would make it easier for all the folks who are part of this to sort of visualize a sliding tile puzzle of folks waiting to see where people are going and what they might be running for. And that’s getting kind of boring. So it would be good to know.”

Members of the Illinois General Assembly could also potentially run for some of the available congressional seats, setting up a shuffle at the Illinois State Capitol as well.

“It’s an election season. All things are possible. We’ve got a lot of very talented people in the state Senate who I’m sure will serve in other offices at some point in their career,” said Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, who also serves as Oak Park Township committeeperson.

Illinois Senate President Don Harmon attends a Cook County Democratic Party preslating event for candidates running for countywide positions at the International Brotherhood of Electrial Workers local in Bronzeville Wednesday.

Preckwinkle noted the large ramifications of Durbin and Pritzker’s pending decisions.

“Needless to say, there would be a lot of ripple effects if either of them decided not to run, but those decisions are their own, and hopefully they’ll make them relatively quickly,” Preckwinkle said.

As for Illinois potentially losing its seniority in Congress, with Durbin serving as the second-highest ranking Democrat in the Senate, Preckwinkle signaled Democrats will have to navigate that wrinkle.

“The senator is going to make a decision on the basis of his own internal calculations, and the rest of us will deal with that,” Preckwinkle said.