IL file photo
Two weeks after Election Day — just days before a scheduled debate — Indiana’s two Senate candidates have heard nothing from their frontrunner, incumbent Republican Rep. Jim Banks. He said he had not.
Democrat Dr. Valerie McCray and Libertarian Andrew Horning have agreed to a debate sponsored by the Indiana Debate Commission scheduled for Tuesday, October 29th. The debate committee announced that the two men had agreed to discuss options in early July. However, banks have not indicated any intention to participate.
Both McCray and Horning told the Indiana Capital Chronicle that they had not previously met their Republican competitors and did not expect to do so before the November election.
“I’m a little upset about the fact that Jim Banks refused to discuss it,” McCray said. “I don’t know if this is motivated by arrogance or fear, but I know that this is the first time that women have appeared on the ballot and the first time that a Senate candidate has refused to debate. When you think about it, it’s disrespectful. And most of all, it’s disrespectful to the voters of Indiana, especially the women who didn’t have a voice.”
Banks represents the state’s 3rd Congressional District, centered on Fort Wayne, and has held the seat since 2017. He did not respond to numerous requests for comment from the Capital Chronicle.
The trio is running to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Mike Braun, who is running for Indiana governor.
Banks run quiet campaigns
Banks, a Republican favorite, has already served in Congress for nearly eight years and has millions of dollars in campaign contributions and support from former President Donald Trump.
He served in the Indiana State Senate from 2010 to 2016 and is currently part of the small U.S. Republican House majority. He previously campaigned for the House majority nomination, but lost by a narrow margin of 115 to 106.
Banks has focused on veterans issues and holding China accountable in Congress. He served in Afghanistan in 2014 and part of 2015 while serving as a state senator.
Most recently, Congressional duties brought him to Washington, D.C., for a three-week session in September, then he went on vacation until Election Day in November. After the election, there will be another “lame duck” Congress before the new Congress convenes in January.
Banks ultimately failed to vote against him in the May primary after Indiana’s two-primary rule excluded Seymour egg farmer John Rust.
In the months leading up to the Indiana State Board of Elections’ decision to bar Rust from the race, Banks repeatedly attacked the underdog Rust in statements and campaign ads.
Since securing her nomination, Banks has remained largely silent aside from her usual social media posts.
Asked earlier if Banks would participate in the Senate debate, a spokesperson for Banks’ campaign said in a statement that the congressman would “represent Northeast Indiana in Congress, spend time with his family, and participate in the next Senate debate.” “I am focused on running a statewide campaign for Congress.” A conservative U.S. senator from Indiana. ” However, the candidates’ teams said they would “consider debate options as Election Day approaches.”
Top issues for banks include border security, veterans assistance, national defense and a “rebellious awakening” in schools.
His campaign website cites support for a number of the Trump administration’s priorities, including “pro-growth” economic policies such as tax cuts, as well as cuts to government spending and “voter ID, fair vote monitoring, rapid He cited “conservative” election integrity reforms such as “counting.” of the ballot paper. ”
McCray criticizes banks, tries to connect with undecided voters
McCray, a clinical psychologist, is the first black woman to be nominated for the Indiana Senate.
Democrats first began campaigning for the Senate two years ago. However, she was unable to get enough voter signatures to appear on the ballot.
Her current campaign priorities are primarily focused on restoring abortion rights, addressing the ongoing immigration crisis, and finding solutions to the “Israel-Palestinian problem.”
“My opponent tends to tell weird stories about anti-woke policies that have nothing to do with the day-to-day issues of Indiana Hoosiers. He has nothing to do with the price of eggs or anything else. You’re participating in an irrelevant, fringe, sacrosanct agenda,” McCray said.
“We have to focus on getting jobs to Indiana – good-paying jobs,” she continued. “We have to make sure that we center our conversations and our policies around everyday Hoosiers, middle-class people, working people — the people who have to deal with these policies every day. Banks seem to be focusing on the super-rich, the people who need the least help, and making the rich even richer.”
McCrae is also an advocate for mental health and reproductive health, stressing that her work in the field and her “personal and close experience as a woman” makes her ideally suited to work on policy solutions on these topics. are.
“First and foremost, women want to be trusted with their own medical decisions,” she says.
Early voting has already begun, and McCray said his grassroots team is trying to engage undecided black men in particular and “undecided people in general.”
“We want to make sure their voices are heard, and we really want their voices to be heard, because I think the more they can speak, the more we see flaws in the law.” said McCray.
Without “huge amounts of money” to support campaigns, the Democratic team relies on a “rich talent pool” of volunteers, she added. That made it difficult at times to gain recognition from voters, “but that’s OK because we’re not a typical campaign.”
“Our brand is about reaching out to people without necessarily having big commercials or big corporate money behind us,” McCray said. “We’ve never measured ourselves in dollars. We’ve measured ourselves by our connections and relationships with the people of Indiana. It’s a different yardstick. I’m in awe of that enthusiasm. I think it has snowballed.”
Mr. Horning is dissatisfied and pushes forward with his campaign
Mr. Horning was selected as the Libertarian Party’s candidate at the party’s annual convention in March.
He has run for countless offices, including several other positions throughout the state. He works professionally in the technology field, assisting in the development and implementation of medical technologies. He primarily focuses on government restraint, as well as the national debt, foreign relations, and immigration.
In an interview with the Capital Chronicle, Horning said, “This was the most unusual campaign in my 30 years of work.”
He went on to point out that the many candidate forums he attended during the 2024 election cycle had little voter participation. “I used to get emails and phone calls from a lot more people, but now I don’t get them as much.”
Horning noted that the presidential election has created “very high levels of tribal passion” in Indiana and across the nation. “After decades of less bad choices, things are always going to get worse,” he said, adding, “Unless people wake up and do something different… I don’t think we’ll get a good result,” he added.
Libertarians expressed concern that Hoosier voters were too focused on national politics and were ignoring Indiana’s U.S. Senate race. He said many people are “stuck” in thinking of politics as “just a two-party system” and that many recognize “how divided and divided we are.” He said there was.
Horning also said the country is at a “critical” moment, “on the brink of World War III and socio-economic collapse,” which should create a sense of urgency for voters.
“We’re still comfortable enough that we’re not shaken out of lethargy,” Horning said. “I don’t talk to people who don’t agree with most of the things I say. …But our government doesn’t guide us. It’s a reflection of us. Our government is the very embodiment of our sins. And if we are a weak and stupid people, our government will be terrible.”
Mr. Horning said that if Mr. Banks does not appear at next week’s debate, “I don’t expect there to be much of a disruption to the fireworks.”
“Frankly, Mr. Banks has enough money to hide until Election Day’s victory speech, and that’s what he’s doing,” Horning said. “He kind of blinded the campaign by avoiding all the controversy, avoiding all the questions, avoiding ‘Republicans said this, Democrats said that.'” And, of course, as a Libertarian. , I’m always at the bottom of every list. ”
“Banks must think he’s succeeded,” Horning added. “From a strategic point of view, I don’t like it. If you don’t show up for the job interview, you shouldn’t get the job. I guess they’re doing the smart thing to avoid getting caught up in the field. But it’s frustrating.”
The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, nonprofit news organization covering state government, policy and elections.
