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

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 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 J. Smith has previously worked as a reporter and anchor for KBIA Radio in Columbia, MO. Prior to that, he worked for WSPY Radio in Plano, IL as a show host, reporter, producer and anchor. His first job in radio was in another state capitol, in Jefferson City, as a reporter for three radio stations around Missouri. Brandon graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a Bachelor of Journalism in 2010, with minors in political science and history. He was born and raised in Chicago.