Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) has earned the support of the No. 2 Republican in the Senate as party leadership coalesces around him in Indiana’s 2024 Senate race.
Minority Whip John Thune (R-SD) endorsed Banks on Thursday for the seat currently held by Sen. Mike Braun, a source familiar told the Washington Examiner.
“Republicans need to take back the Senate so we can get our country back on track, and that work starts in Indiana,” Thune said in a statement. “Jim Banks has a proven track record of delivering conservative results and standing up to Joe Biden and Democrats’ reckless agenda. Jim served our country honorably in Afghanistan and I’m grateful he’s raising his hand to serve in the Senate. I’m proud to endorse Jim Banks for Senate and he has my full support.”
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Although Braun, who opted not to run for reelection to pursue a run for governor of the Hoosier State, has not waded into the Senate race, Banks, a fourth-term congressman for Indiana’s 3rd Congressional District, has earned a broad coalition of support.
The race had promised to be a proxy war between the establishment wing of the party, backing former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, and the insurgent conservatives aligned with Banks.
But Daniels’s January decision not to run, made after a trip to the Capitol to speak with senators, helped clear the field for Banks, the former chairman of the influential Republican Study Committee.
Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), the head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, immediately came out with a quasi-endorsement of Banks, marking a shift in strategy for the campaign arm, which last cycle declined to get involved in GOP primaries. And John Barrasso, the upper chamber’s No. 3 Republican, endorsed him days later. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) was slated to attend a fundraiser for Banks before he suffered a concussion earlier this month.
Banks has also received the support of Trump-aligned Republicans such as Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH). And in a major pickup, former President Donald Trump endorsed the congressman in early February.
The endorsement has heavy weight in Indiana, a state the former president won by 16 points in 2020.
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Daniels was not the only Republican to decide against a run for Braun’s seat. Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-IN), a second-term congresswoman who was thought to be considering a bid, announced on Feb. 3 that she would not run for any office in 2024.
Should Banks win the GOP nomination, he is the decided favorite to win the general election in barn-red Indiana. He is currently running unopposed in the primary.
