Democratic senatorial candidate Dr. Valerie McCray speaks during a debate hosted by the Indiana Debate Commission at WISH, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, Pool)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Republican Jim Banks, an outspoken supporter of former President Donald Trump, won Indiana’s open U.S. Senate seat on Tuesday, defeating political newcomer and Democrat Valerie McCray.

Banks, 45, was strongly favored to win the Senate race in the Hoosier state, which Trump won by large margins in 2016 and 2020.

Banks said in his victory statement that he was grateful to his family and voters across the state for their support and was “honored to have the opportunity to fight for the things that matter most to Hoosiers.”

Banks said he entered the Senate race “to champion working Hoosier families and put Indiana first, and that’s what I plan to do on day one in the United States Senate.”

“Only in America can a kid like me, who grew up in a trailer park in Columbia City and was the first in my family to go to college, go on to become a United States senator," he added. “As your next senator, I will fight every day to protect that American dream for the next generation.”

Banks is a combative defender of Trump who voted against certifying Joe Biden’s presidential election victory after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He had no challenger in the May primary after a series of legal battles ultimately removed egg farmer John Rust from the Republican ballot.

The sitting congressman represents northeastern Indiana’s 3rd District. He passed on another House term to run for the Senate seat being vacated by fellow Republican Mike Braun who won Indiana's governor’s office in Tuesday's elections. Current Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb is term-limited.

McCray, a clinical psychologist from Indianapolis, is a political newcomer whose name is appearing on a statewide ballot for the first time. In 2022, she sought to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Todd Young in his reelection bid but didn’t get enough signatures to secure a spot on the Democratic primary ballot. The Senate seat Young holds will next be up for election in 2028.

In this year’s May Democratic primary, McCray, 65, defeated trade association executive Marc Carmichael, a former state representative, to become the first Black woman chosen as an Indiana mainstream party’s nominee for U.S. Senate.

McCray and Libertarian candidate Andy Horning met for the only Senate debate on Oct. 29, but Banks did not attend.

McCray said in a statement Tuesday night conceding her loss to Banks that she was "proud of the movement we built and the conversations we started about the issues that matter most to Hoosiers.”

“Jim Banks’ victory is a reminder that our work is far from over. As a MAGA Republican, he does not share the values of most Hoosiers, who believe in equality, justice, and opportunity for all," she added. "I will continue to advocate for policies that benefit working-class families, protect women’s rights, and promote affordable healthcare.”

In the leadup to Election Day, Banks and McCray largely parroted their national parties’ talking points, with Banks emphasizing border security and immigration and McCray healthcare and abortion rights, said Michael Wolf, a professor of political science and department chairman at Purdue-Fort Wayne.

Wolf said Democrats were energized by McCray’s candidacy, but her loss adds to Democrats’ more than decade-long losing streak in Indiana statewide elections. The last time Democrats won statewide races was in 2012, when Glenda Ritz won the state schools superintendent post and Democrat Joe Donnelly won a U.S. Senate seat.

News from © The Associated Press, 2024