3rd District Rep. Jim Banks holds onto seat for fourth term

Tony Sandleben

Article origination 89.1 WBOI

Rep. Jim Banks speaks to reporters at Allen County GOP Headquarters after the 3rd district race was called for him Tuesday night.
*Brittany Smith / WBOI News*

Third District Republican Congressman Jim Banks is once again holding on to his congressional seat.

Banks held off his Democrat and Independent challengers to win his fourth consecutive term.

Banks, a pro-life, 2020 election denier faced Democrat Gary Snyder and Independent Nathan Gotsch, both of whom do not support a nation-wide abortion ban and believe President Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election.

Both criticized Banks for spending so much time in Washington and not in Northeast Indiana with most of their criticism coming after Banks apparently declined to participate in a debate with the two of them in October.

Weeks later, the three of them did debate each other on the conservative talk radio station WOWO.

According to unofficial results, Banks declared victory when he had 63.1 percent of the vote. Snyder had 32.5 percent and Gotsch had 4.5 percent.

In a statement, Banks said “it has been the honor of my lifetime to spend three terms representing northeast Indiana in the House and I am grateful to the people of Indiana for the opportunity to serve for another term.”

Banks said he still has work to do saying “after the first two years of the Biden presidency and a Speaker-Pelosi controlled House, Hoosiers face runaway inflation, skyrocketing energy costs, a broken border, increasing crime, and a worsening opioid epidemic. There's a lot of work to be done and I am more determined than ever to fight back against the craziness in Washington.”

Snyder called Tuesday’s election result an “indictment on the voters of Northeast Indiana” which is what left him disappointed.

“It’s just disappointing that the voters of the third district don’t value a woman’s right to make her own decisions about her own body, healthcare and future,” Snyder said.

Gotsch said he walked away from Election Day encouraged by the results.

“We really believe in the independent model,” Gotsch said. “So, this was a test. This was a chance to see if there was an appetite for this, and the returns, in my mind, are very encouraging.”

Both Gotsch and Snyder said they plan to continue working for the people of Northeast Indiana. Snyder said he would do so by continuing to “fight the fight.”

Gotsch did not rule out another run for public office. Banks, meanwhile, said Tuesday night was the night when Northeast Indiana “fires Nancy Pelosi.”

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