AUGUSTA – The Maine Democratic Party announced Friday that Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin will be the keynote speaker May 31 at the state convention in Augusta.

Durbin was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1996 and now serves as assistant majority leader.

A spokesman for Maine Democrats says Durbin’s willingness to come to Maine demonstrates the importance of the state’s U.S. Senate race, in which Democrat Tom Allen is challenging Republican incumbent Susan Collins.