Two of three Indiana U.S. Senate candidates meet in debate focused on policy proposals

The lone debate in Indiana's 2024 U.S. Senate race was a sedate exchange between just two of the three candidates, as Republican Jim Banks declined to participate.

Democrat Dr. Valerie McCray and Libertarian Andrew Horning did take the opportunity Tuesday to share their policy ideas.

They disagreed on several topics, including health care, gun regulations, and the country’s support of conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.

For Horning, the disagreement was often rooted in his view that most of what the federal government does is unconstitutional.

“We need to reprioritize what we're using government for,” Horning said. “You know, the fact that we are funding every other country on the planet, we're using our armies and our dollar to force other countries to do what we want when we're not taking care of our own people here at home — that's ridiculous.”

But Horning and McCray never argued, rarely even addressing each other. Horning even used one rebuttal solely to share his appreciation for a McCray answer.
 

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Banks was mentioned only twice by either of his opponents. McCray referenced him in an answer about supporting federal legislation to spur tech manufacturing.

“My other opponent, however, has tried to block these bills that were bringing information and bringing money, bringing technology to Indiana,” McCray said.

McCray also used her final words in the debate to say Banks skipped it because he “disrespects” Hoosiers.
 

Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.