U.S. Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana launches bid for U.S. Senate

U.S. Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana announced Tuesday he is running for an open seat in the U.S. Senate, branding himself a "conservative fighter" who will take on "radical socialist spending" in the now-Democrat-controlled body.

Banks, 43, of Columbia City, reported nearly $1.4 million cash on hand in his latest filing for Congress with the Federal Election Commission and already has been endorsed by the conservative fundraising powerhouse Club for Growth. He's vying for the Senate seat that fellow Republican Mike Braun plans to vacate in 2024, as Braun is running for governor in the Hoosier state.

"I just believe Indiana is a conservative state and deserves a conservative senator to replace Mike Braun," Banks told IndyStar Tuesday. "I think we need new young conservative leaders to run for the Senate and go there and shake it up."

He said he wouldn't have run against Braun, who he called a "reliable conservative" in the Senate.

No one else has declared their candidacy for the Senate seat, but two Republicans are thought to be eying runs.

Banks faces potential competition from former Republican Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, who stepped down from his role as Purdue University president at the end of 2022, and U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz, a Republican from Noblesville representing Indiana's fifth district.

Longtime Daniels adviser Mark Lubbers confirmed to IndyStar Tuesday that Daniels is considering a run. Spartz, through a spokesperson, said she has not made her final decision yet.

"I have been very busy getting some work done in the trenches not demagoguing on TV channels, so I have not had time to contemplate the Senate run further," her statement reads.

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Banks is in his fourth term as U.S. representative for Indiana's third congressional district, which covers the northeastern part of the state. Before that, he served six years as a state senator, including a leave of absence in parts of 2014 and 2015 as an officer in the Navy Reserve to deploy to Afghanistan.

He has emerged as a leading Republican in the House's far-right wing, even earning one unsolicited vote for Speaker of the House during the marathon 15 rounds of voting in early January, to Banks' surprise.

"I didn't ask for a recount," he joked. Banks supported eventual winner Kevin McCarthy throughout the ordeal.

A serious candidate

Banks' track record of winning local, state and federal office makes Purdue University Fort Wayne professor emeritus Andy Downs take his candidacy seriously.

"Unlike a lot of people, for me, the moment he says, 'I'm in it and I'm running,' that's the moment I really believe he has information that leads him to believe it's a winnable race," Downs said.

Banks ascent through the ranks of political power has been methodical, having started out in local politics before climbing to the state and national stages. Before becoming a state senator, he chaired the Whitley County Republican Party and served on the Whitley County Council.

Likewise in the Senate, he said he hopes to be able to build seniority and pull weight on key issues he cares about, including cracking down on the fentynal trade and raking back spending to chip away at the $31 trillion national debt.

"We can not sit idly by as Joe Biden and the Democratic Party trample our freedoms," Banks said on Twitter. "With your support, I will unapologetically fight for America and conservative values in the United States Senate."

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Club for Growth PAC endorses Banks

Banks received an enthusiastic endorsement from the Club for Growth Political Action Committee, a conservative advocacy group that also endorsed him during his 2016 run for Congress.

President David McIntosh, a former Indiana congressman, said the PAC is prepared to spend "whatever it takes" to get Banks elected.

"Jim Banks is a proven conservative and a champion for economic freedom, liberty, and opportunity ― we are proud to endorse his campaign for Indiana Senate," he said in a statement.

In fact, Club for Growth already has fired a warning shot against a potential Daniels run.

The PAC recently put money behind an attack ad against "Moderate Mitch" Daniels that first aired in Indiana on Sunday. The one-minute ad labels Daniels "an old guard Republican clinging to the old ways of the bad old days" and says he's not conservative enough for Indiana.

Lubbers believes the ad, which he described as "personal" and a "gross distortion," may only make it more likely Daniels will run.

"(Daniels') conservative record is crystal clear, and not in the fairy tale world that David McIntosh lives in, but the real world of running a government," Lubbers said. "It's very sad that Banks has thrown in with the same losers who cost Republicans control of the U.S. Senate last November."

McIntosh once faced Daniels in a bid for the Republican nomination for Indiana governor in 2004, but dropped out of the race when then-President George W. Bush endorsed Daniels. McIntosh had lost a run for governor four years prior to the incumbent governor, Frank O'Bannon.

Banks' chief of staff David Keller tweeted a Daniels campaign ad from his second bid for Indiana governor in 2008, in which he said he would never run for another office beyond that of governor. "Surely he's not just another politician, is he?" Keller wrote.

Banks said he didn't find this to be unkind, and also said he has "a lot of respect" for Daniels. Daniels was governor while Banks was in the state Senate.

"These races ― especially running in a race for United States Senate ― these races get tough, and they're long," Banks said.

Daniels leads in Bellwether poll

The most recent polling shows Daniels, though his bid is still prospective, is a potential front-runner. A Bellwether Research poll gave Daniels a 32% showing, compared to Banks' 10% and Spartz' 7%. Another 30% were undecided. The poll was conducted among 1,000 registered Indiana voters from Dec. 11-17, with a margin of error of plus or minus 5%.

Banks has also collected endorsements from Indiana U.S. Rep. Larry Bucshon and state Sen. Justin Busch, R-Fort Wayne.

But the Indiana Democratic Party sees Banks' bid as little more than a jockey for political power after a failed shot at House Majority Whip.

"Hoosiers shouldn’t be surprised by Banks’s brazen calculation, because he cares more about the Tucker Carlson national cable news circuit than creating a better future for the Hoosier State," chairman Mike Schmuhl said in a statement.

Contact IndyStar transportation reporter Kayla Dwyer at kdwyer@indystar.com or follow her on Twitter @kayla_dwyer17.