Rep. Jim Banks, R-3rd, Jan. 17 announced his campaign to represent Indiana in the U.S. Senate.

He is the first candidate to announce for the seat that will become vacant when first-term Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., announced he would run for Indiana governor in 2024.

Other possible candidates for the seat include Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-5th, and former Gov. Mitch Daniels, who just stepped down after serving 10 years as president of Purdue University.

Over the weekend, ads attacking Daniels as not being conservative enough started airing in Indiana that were paid for by the conservative Club For Growth political action committee, which is headed by Kendallville native and former U.S. Rep. David McIntosh.

In his announcement, released at 6 a.m. Jan. 17, Banks didn’t waste any time staking his claim to the right, where he has been firmly entrenched since he was first elected to the U.S. House in 2016.

“Our nation is at a turning point. We need conservatives in Washington who are not afraid to fight back against the radical socialist Democrats who are trying to change America. I was proud to serve my country in the military, and I have been on the front lines fighting for our conservative Hoosier values in Congress. With your help, I’ll do that in an even bigger way in the United States Senate,” Banks said. “Radical Democrats and the spineless Republicans are going to do everything they can to stop me, but I need your help in the fight to restore America. I look forward to meeting with as many of you as possible in the coming months on the campaign trail, hearing about what matters most to you, and how we can effectively protect our American way of life for our daughters, sons, and future generations.”

In a campaign announcement video, Banks played up his roots in Columbia City. Before running for the House, Banks served in the Indiana Senate.

“Only in America could a small town kid from a working class home be able to do what I’ve been blessed to do. I grew up in Columbia City, the son of a factory worker and a nursing home cook. My parents worked hard every day to give me better opportunities than what they had,” Banks said. “I was the first in my family to go to college, where I met my wife Amanda in the Indiana University College Republicans. I love my family and I love America. That’s why I decided to serve my country in the military, and one of the greatest joys of my life was coming home from Afghanistan to my wife and our three little girls. I was proud to defend America then, and today, I am just as proud to fight for our conservative Hoosier values in Congress.”

Banks said in his statement that he would stand up against Democrats and moderate Senate Republicans to push a conservative agenda.

“Indiana deserves a conservative fighter in the United States Senate. But the radical Democrats and the spineless Republicans are going to do everything that they can to stop me. Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden have tried to block me before. They know I won’t back down,” Banks said.

Banks’ time in Congress has not been without controversy.

In late February 2021, Banks and a dozen other Republican House members skipped votes and enlisted others to vote for them, citing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. He and the other members were actually attending the Conservative Political Action Conference, which was held at the same time as their slated absences. In response, the Campaign for Accountability, an ethics watchdog group, filed a complaint with the House Committee on Ethics and requested an investigation into Banks and the other lawmakers.

In October 2021, Rep. Liz Cheney, vice chair of the January 6 Select Committee, revealed that Banks had been sending letters to federal agencies, claiming to be the ranking member of that committee, even though he had been rejected from it. In one September 2021 letter, Banks requested that the Department of the Interior provide him with information it had sent the committee. He also wrote, “Pelosi refused to allow me to fulfill my duties as Ranking Member,” and signed the letter as “Ranking Member,” which he was not.

Also in October 2021, when Rachel Levine, who is transgender, became an admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, Banks commented in his official Twitter account: “The title of first female four-star officer gets taken by a man.” Twitter, which prohibits “targeted misgendering or deadnaming of transgender individuals,” censored his official account in response. He was suspended from Twitter for a couple of weeks.

As expected, the Indiana Democratic Party blasted Banks following his announcement.

“Jim Banks failed in his bid to become the Majority Whip for the U.S. House so now he sees the U.S. Senate as a new prize for more political power. Hoosiers shouldn’t be surprised by Banks’s brazen calculation, because he cares more about the (Fox News) Tucker Carlson national cable news circuit than creating a better future for the Hoosier State,” said a statement from Democratic Chairman Mike Schmuhl.

He went on to say Banks did not represent the interests of Northeast Indiana, as could be evidenced by his votes against legislation that favored economic development, job creation and infrastructure.

“Jim Banks represents exactly what voters despise about politics: someone who will say or do anything to make a buck for themselves and hold onto political power. Hoosiers deserve an elected official who will set aside Washington special interests and focus on creating a better future for everyone in Indiana. Jim Banks would be better suited as a Fox News host — not a U.S. senator,” Schmuhl said.