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Jim Banks pledges to be 'conservative fighter for Indiana' in U.S. Senate

A screenshot of a Zoom call with Jim Banks. Banks is a White man with graying hair. He is wearing a dark suit jacket and light-colored shirt.
Screenshot of Zoom call
U.S. Sen.-elect Jim Banks said he hopes to serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

U.S. Sen.-elect Jim Banks said he wants to be a conservative fighter for Indiana in the Senate as he takes on his new position.

Banks said one of his first priorities as Indiana’s newest U.S. senator will be building a statewide team. Banks has spent his political career representing northeast Indiana, both in the state Senate and Congress.

“It’s a diverse state, so I have a lot to learn about local issues — from Evansville to the Region to Indianapolis and places that I haven’t represented before,” Banks said.

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A military veteran, Banks served on the Armed Services Committee in the House. He said he hopes to continue that work in the Senate.

“A bigger role, a bigger platform on those national security issues — which affects every Hoosier, but we have a lot of employers in the state in the defense industry,” Banks said.

Banks said he looks forward to being the same kind of conservative lawmaker he was in the U.S. House.

Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.

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Brandon Smith has covered the Statehouse for Indiana Public Broadcasting for more than a decade, spanning three governors and a dozen legislative sessions. He's also the host of Indiana Week in Review, a weekly political and policy discussion program seen and heard across the state. He previously worked at KBIA in Columbia, Missouri and WSPY in Plano, Illinois. His first job in radio was in another state capitol - Jefferson City, Missouri - as a reporter for three stations around the Show-Me State.