Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) announced Tuesday that he is running for the Senate seat currently held by Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN).
Braun previously announced plans not to seek re-election in 2024 in order to run for governor of Indiana.
“We NEED conservatives in Washington who aren’t afraid to fight Biden’s radical agenda,” Banks tweeted alongside a video promoting his Senate run. “That’s why I am running to represent our great state of Indiana in the United States Senate.”
We NEED conservatives in Washington who aren’t afraid to fight Biden’s radical agenda.
That’s why I am running to represent our great state of Indiana in the United States Senate. Join my team: https://t.co/R8ntxo5pQt pic.twitter.com/4BPPQC7OxY
— Jim Banks (@Jim_Banks) January 17, 2023
Banks, the first candidate to enter the Senate race, is the former chair of the Republican Study Committee.
“Radical, socialist Democrats are trying to change America, but I won’t let them,” Banks said in the video. “I’ve been on the front lines fighting for America first policies in Congress.”
Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-IN) and former Gov. Mitch Daniels (R-IN) are reportedly also considering a run for the seat, according to Fox News.
Banks was first elected to the House in 2016 to represent Indiana’s 3rd District which includes Fort Wayne, one of the state’s largest cities. He also previously served in the Indiana state Senate and served in Afghanistan as a member of the Navy Reserve.
“I’m 100% pro-life, pro-family, pro-military, pro-veteran, focused on the issues that the voters care most about today, which is holding the Biden administration accountable and restoring America, fighting for our conservative values, putting America first, and that’s what I want to do in the Senate,” he told Fox News during a Tuesday interview.
Banks also said during the interview that the $1.7 trillion spending bill supported by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) was a key factor in his decision to run.
“I think we need new conservative voices and leaders in the Senate. That’s why I’m running. There aren’t enough of them, and the omnibus bill is an example of that,” Banks said. “There’s lots of other examples where we’ve had Republican senators in the U.S. Senate go along with the Democrats and pass the radical Biden agenda. And I want to go there and fight back against it.”
Indiana is a conservative state, and Indiana deserves a conservative fighter in the United States Senate. pic.twitter.com/cSdWt5ecGS
— Jim Banks (@Jim_Banks) January 17, 2023
Among the top issues Banks highlights on his campaign website is border security. Banks says he “is a strong and vocal advocate for securing our border by implementing the successful policies of the Trump administration, including building a physical barrier along the southern border, and reinstating the ‘Remain in Mexico’ program where migrants must wait in Mexico before their asylum claims can be heard in the United States.”