Indiana GOP Rep. Jim Banks launches 2024 bid for open U.S. Senate in solidly red state

U.S. Rep. Jim Banks announced Tuesday he is running for U.S. Senate seat now held by fellow Republican Mike Braun who is leaving to run for governor.

"Indiana is a conservative state, and Indiana deserves a conservative fighter in the United States Senate," Banks said.

Banks, 43, of Columbia City, has emerged as a leading Republican in the House's far-right wing.

"We can not sit idly by as Joe Biden and the Democratic Party trample our freedoms," he said on Twitter. "With your support, I will unapologetically fight for America and conservative values in the United States Senate."

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Braun is serving his first term as senator. He has launched a bid for Indiana governor. The seat is expected to remain Republican in the 2024 election.

Banks received an endorsement from the Club for Growth Political Action Committee, a conservative advocacy group that also endorsed him during his 2016 run for the U.S. House of Representatives.

President David McIntosh, a former Indiana congressman, said the PAC is prepared to spend "whatever it takes" to get Banks elected.

"Jim Banks is a proven conservative and a champion for economic freedom, liberty, and opportunity ― we are proud to endorse his campaign for Indiana Senate," he said in a statement.

The Indiana Democratic Party sees his bid as a jockey for political power after a failed shot at House Majority Whip.

"Hoosiers shouldn’t be surprised by Banks’s brazen calculation, because he cares more about the Tucker Carlson national cable news circuit than creating a better future for the Hoosier State," chairman Mike Schmuhl said in a statement.

This story will be updated.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: GOP Rep. Banks seeking Senate seat being vacated in 2024 by Mike Braun