Jim Banks

James Edward Banks (born July 16, 1979) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for IN's 3rd congressional district since 2017.

Banks graduated in 2004 from Indiana University Bloomington with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and later received an MBA from Grace College & Seminary.

He worked in the real estate and construction industry in Fort Wayne, Indiana, before serving in elected office.

Banks serves in the United States Navy Reserve as a Supply Corps officer.

Banks also chaired the Whitley County Republican Party from 2007 to 2011.

He was succeeded by Matt Boyd as chair.

With assistance from the American Legislative Exchange Council, he has supported right-to-work legislation in Indiana.

From 2008 to 2010, Banks served on the Whitley County Council from the at-large district.

He won the primary after defeating incumbent County Councilman Scott Darley.

He was succeeded by Paula Reimers on the County Council.

A Republican, he previously served as a member of the Indiana Senate from 2010 to 2016.

On January 17, 2023, Banks announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Republican Mike Braun in 2024.

Banks was born in Columbia City, Indiana.

Banks was first elected to serve in the state senate for the 17th district in 2010, and upon military deployment to Afghanistan, he took a leave of absence from the state senate in September 2014.

From 2014 to 2015, he took a leave of absence from the Indiana State Senate to serve in Afghanistan.

Banks addressed the 2014 Conservative Political Action Conference in 2014 after he was selected as one of their Top 10 Conservatives Under 40.

Invoking an Indiana state law that allows state and local officeholders to take leaves of absence during active duty military service, Banks was temporarily replaced by his wife, Amanda Banks, who held the office for the senate's 2015 legislative session.

He returned to Indiana from overseas duty on April 14, 2015, and resumed his duties as state senator on May 8.

On May 12, 2015, Banks announced his candidacy for Congress.

The incumbent, Marlin Stutzman, announced he would not run for reelection and would instead campaign for the Republican nomination to succeed retiring Indiana Senator Dan Coats.

The Club for Growth endorsed Banks.

Banks won the primary election, separating himself from five other like-minded conservative opponents, with 34% of the vote.

Spending in the campaign exceeded $2 million as Banks raised $850,000 before the primary and the candidate who finished in second place, businessman Kip Tom, raised $950,000, including $150,000 he loaned from his personal funds.

Banks ran for reelection; he was unopposed in the Republican primary and defeated Democratic nominee Courtney Tritch in the general election with 64.7% of the vote.

Banks ran for a third term and defeated physician Chris Magiera in the Republican primary.

He then defeated Democratic nominee Chip Coldiron in the general election with 67.8% of the vote.

Banks was sworn in on January 3, 2017.

He is a member of the Republican Study Committee.

In December 2017, Banks joined Representatives Ron DeSantis, Scott Perry, and Robert Pittenger in co-signing a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson requesting that Tillerson release a classified counterterrorism agreement with Qatar.

In January 2020, Banks faced backlash after saying that remarks by Representative Ilhan Omar about her experiences with post-traumatic stress disorder were "offensive to our nation’s veterans."

As a child, Omar fled civil war in Somalia and spent four years in a Kenyan refugee camp.

After Joe Biden won the 2020 election and Donald Trump refused to concede while making claims of fraud, Banks was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives to sign an amicus brief in support of a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election.

The Supreme Court declined to hear the case.

Banks later objected to the certification of the election results.

After the January 6, 2021, United States Capitol attack, Banks expressed support for a bipartisan commission to investigate the riot.

He later changed his mind.

On July 21, 2021, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi vetoed Kevin McCarthy's assigning of Banks and Jim Jordan to the January 6 Select Committee on the grounds that both had amplified Trump's false claims of fraud.

Banks subsequently claimed that Pelosi was at fault for the January 6 insurrection and that she was using the commission to cover up her role.

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.