Indiana Voter Guide: Who's running for Senate and can they beat Jim Banks?

Hoosier Democrats in Indiana’s primary election last week tapped Indianapolis clinical psychologist Valerie McCray to go to battle with Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Banks for the state's open U.S. Senate seat in November. Libertarian Andrew Horning is also running in the general election.

Campaigning against Banks will not be an easy task. National election predictors like the Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball both list the 2024 Indiana U.S. Senate race as a solid and safely Republican seat. It’s an open seat after Sen. Mike Braun chose not to run for reelection and instead campaign for the governor’s office.

But there are months to go until the general election on Nov. 5 and plenty can happen before then. Here are answers to five questions about the November election for Indiana’s open Senate seat.

Who are candidates for U.S. Senate in Indiana?

Three candidates are running for Indiana’s open U.S. Senate seat: Republican Jim Banks, Democrat Valerie McCray and Libertarian Andrew Horning.

Banks, from Columbia City, represents Indiana’s 3rd District in Congress. Banks ran unopposed for U.S. Senate in the Republican primary on May 7.

McCray is a clinical psychologist in Indianapolis and defeated former state Rep. Marc Carmichael in the Democratic primary on May 7.

Horning, a resident of Freedom in Owen County, retired in 2023 from working in medical technology development. Horning was selected by Indiana Libertarians at the party’s convention earlier this year.

Hoosier Libertarian candidates: Your guide to the party's choices for 2024 races

What kind of elected or campaign experience do candidates have?

Banks leads all three candidates in elected experience. The Republican congressman was first elected to represent Northeast Indiana in Congress in 2016 and was reelected in 2018, 2020 and 2022. He has garnered a reputation as an outspoken, socially conservative voice in the House of Representatives and also moved bills during his terms tied to helping veterans. Banks is a veteran of the Navy Reserves and, prior to Congress, served in the Indiana State Senate and the Whitley County Council.

McCray has never held elected office, but in 2020 ran for President focusing on mental health care before she dropped out of the race. McCray’s campaign has said the Democrat is the first Black female candidate for U.S. Senate in Indiana’s history.

Horning has run as a libertarian in past elections, including the 8th Congressional District in 2014, 2016 and 2022. Horning previously ran for U.S. Senate in 2012 when Hoosiers elected Democrat Joe Donnelly and for governor in 2008 against former Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels and Democrat Jill Long Thompson.

How much money and support do candidates have right now?

Banks is swimming in fundraising dollars and endorsements from top Republicans in and outside of Indiana. On the top of that list of endorsements is former President Donald Trump, who remains highly popular in the Hoosier State. According to federal election reports as of mid-April, Banks reported receiving about $4.7 million and spent about $3.1 million this election cycle so far.

In the same time frame, federal reports show McCray raised just under $15,000 and spent about $15,700. There are no reports on Horning’s campaign fundraising as of mid-April.

From 2023: Donald Trump endorses Jim Banks for U.S. Senate

How did Hoosiers vote in recent U.S. Senate elections?

In Indiana’s last U.S. Senate election in 2022, voters reelected Republican Sen. Todd Young to another term in Washington D.C. Young won the election that year by nearly 21 percentage points over Democrat Tom McDermott. Libertarian James Sceniak won about 3% of the total vote in 2022.

In 2018, U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, who is the Republican nominee for governor this year, defeated incumbent Democrat Sen. Joe Donnelly by 6 percentage points.

Can a Democrat or Libertarian win Indiana’s U.S. Senate seat in 2024?

Anything can happen in politics, but it looks highly unlikely that Democrats or Libertarians have a shot at Indiana’s open Senate seat.

The last time Hoosiers elected a Democrat to the Senate was Donnelly in 2012 and Indiana has only grown more red in the years since former President Donald Trump handily won the state in 2016 and 2020. With Trump at the top of the ticket in November’s general election, it’s hard to see a path for anyone other than Banks.

Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at [email protected] or 317-779-4468. Follow her on Twitter/X@CarloniBrittany.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Voter guide: What you need to know about Indiana's U.S. Senate race