Republican U.S. Congressman Jim Banks will become Indiana’s next senator, replacing Mike Braun, who vacated the office to accept the Republican nomination for governor, The Associated Press called at 7 p.m.
Banks defeated Democratic nominee Valerie McCray by a margin of more than 20% with 93% of votes counted.
Banks has represented Indiana’s 3rd District since 2017 and was a member of the Indiana state senate between 2010 and 2016.
Banks, a native of Columbia City, is a staunch supporter of former president and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and received Trump’s endorsement last year. Banks is active on social media in his support of the Republican Party.
Banks’ positions fall in line with the far right of the Republican Party, supporting a moratorium on aid to Ukraine and repealing the Affordable Care Act. He opposes abortion, same-sex marriage and said climate change is “largely leftist propaganda.”
