Banks and McCray are competing for the Senate seat in Indiana

Indianapolis, Indiana – In the resolutely conservative state of Indiana, Republican Jim Banks, a vocal admirer of former President Donald Trump, is running against Democrat Valerie McCray for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat.

The 45-year-old Banks is heavily favored to win the Hoosier state Senate contest, which Trump won handily in both 2016 and 2020.

After a group of Trump supporters overran the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, Banks, a confrontational Trump supporter, voted against declaring Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election. Following a series of legal challenges that ultimately removed egg farmer John Rust from the Republican ballot, he had no opponent in the May primary.

The 3rd District of northeastern Indiana is represented by the current congressman. In order to run for the Senate seat being vacated by fellow Republican Mike Braun, who is running for governor of Indiana, he declined another term in the House. Eric Holcomb, the current Republican governor, has a term limit.

McCray, an Indianapolis-based clinical psychologist, is a political novice whose name is making its first appearance on a statewide ballot. She attempted to run against Republican U.S. Sen. Todd Young for reelection in 2022, but she was unable to gather enough signatures to be included on the Democratic primary ballot. In 2028, the Senate seat that Young currently occupies will be up for election.

McCray, 65, became the first Black woman selected as the U.S. Senate nominee of an Indiana major party after defeating former state lawmaker and trade association leader Marc Carmichael in this year’s May Democratic primary.

On October 29, Banks did not attend the sole Senate debate between McCray and Libertarian candidate Andy Horning.

In the run-up to Election Day, Banks and McCray have largely repeated the talking points of their national parties, according to Michael Wolf, a political science professor and department chairman at Purdue-Fort Wayne. Banks has focused on immigration and border security, while McCray has focused on healthcare and abortion rights.

Because he had no opponent, he added, Banks is a “formidable candidate who’s got name recognition” and a well-funded campaign that didn’t have to spend money on a GOP primary contest.

Although McCray’s campaign has invigorated Democrats, Wolf points out that the party hasn’t had much success in recent statewide elections as Indiana voters have become more conservative.

He remarked, “She’s working against trends and has a lot of work to do.”