INDIANAPOLIS – Sitting Congressman Jim Banks hasn’t yet accepted an invitation to debate from the Indiana Debate Commission, though Democrat Valerie McCray and Libertarian Andrew Horning have indicated their willingness.
“Congressman Banks is focused on representing northeast Indiana in Congress, spending time with his family, and running a statewide campaign to be the next conservative U.S. Senator for Indiana. As we get closer to Election Day, he will entertain debate options,” a campaign spokesperson told the Indiana Capital Chronicle.
Banks represents the state’s 3rd Congressional District, in the Fort Wayne area, a seat he has held since 2017. The Indiana Debate Commission said both McCray and Horning agreed to debate options in early July.
Banks hasn’t yet responded to the commission, said President Elizabeth Bennion, a political science professor at Indiana University-South Bend.
“We remain hopeful that Representative Banks will join current U.S. Senators Mike Braun and Todd Young – and past senators Joe Donnelly, Evan Bayh, and Dan Coats – in accepting the Commission’s invitation to participate in the IDC’s statewide political debates,” Bennion said in an email.
The three gubernatorial candidates — sitting U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, Democrat Jennifer McCormick, and Libertarian Donald Rainwater — have agreed to an Oct. 24 debate. However, that gubernatorial debate at first seemed to be in doubt following a primary debate that was highly criticized.
Banks, Horning, and McCray are running to fill Braun’s vacated seat.
Read the complete Whitney Downard story for the Indiana Capital Chronicle, here.
