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Indiana Debate Commission moves forward with U.S. Senate debate. Banks won't take part

Headshots of Andrew Horning, Jim Banks and Valerie McCray. Horning is a White man with dark, graying hair and a gray beard. He is wearing glasses and a suit and tie. Banks is a White man with dark, graying hair. He is wearing a suit and tie. McCray is a Black woman with black hair. She is wearing a blue top.
Courtesy of Horning Facebook page, Banks Facebook page and McCray campaign
The candidates for Indiana's 2024 U.S. Senate race are, from left to right, Libertarian Andrew Horning, Republican Jim Banks and Democrat Valerie McCray.

The nonpartisan Indiana Debate Commission announced Friday it will host a debate for Indiana’s U.S. Senate race later this month — even as one of the candidates won’t participate.

Only Democrat Valerie McCray and Libertarian Andrew Horning will take part in the debate on Oct. 29. Republican Jim Banks declined the commission’s invitation.

The Senate race is an open one, as incumbent Republican Mike Braun opted to run for governor this fall.

The commission is inviting people to submit questions for the debate on its website, IndianaDebateCommission.com. Those questions, which will be vetted by the commission, can be submitted by Oct. 17.

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

Brandon Smith has covered the Statehouse for Indiana Public Broadcasting for more than a decade, spanning three governors and a dozen legislative sessions. He's also the host of Indiana Week in Review, a weekly political and policy discussion program seen and heard across the state. He previously worked at KBIA in Columbia, Missouri and WSPY in Plano, Illinois. His first job in radio was in another state capitol - Jefferson City, Missouri - as a reporter for three stations around the Show-Me State.