by Casey Smith, Indiana Capital Chronicle
October 29, 2024
A U.S. Senate debate attended Tuesday evening by two of three Indiana candidates covered inflation, health care, foreign affairs and more but Republican frontrunner Jim Banks was notably absent.
Democrat Dr. Valerie McCray and Libertarian Andrew Horning responded to nearly two dozen questions during the one-hour forum, hosted by the Indiana Debate Commission.
The debate commission said the two agreed to debate options in early July. Banks declined to join, however.
Debate rules barred McCray and Horning from directly addressing Banks in any way that would not allow him an opportunity to rebut. But they both talked about him after the debate during a short media availability.
“Right now, women’s issues are on the ballot, and the fact that he did not show up to defend his policies on women’s health — and he didn’t show up to defend his policies on Project 2025 — I think that was an insult to the American people, and absolutely disrespectful to the Hoosier voters, and I have a problem with that,” McCray said following the debate, which took place at WISH-TV’s studio in Indianapolis. “I was prepared to debate Jim Banks, but he is a no call, no show on this.”
Horning shared a similar sentiment, emphasizing that “if you don’t show up for the job interview, you shouldn’t get the job.” He said Banks’ delayed decision not to participate in the debate was “an arrogant, jerky thing.”
“It shows a degree of disrespect for voters that he assumes that he’s got this all in the bag,” Horning continued.
Since securing the nomination in May, the GOP congressman has largely gone quiet aside from his usual social media posts.
An update shared to X earlier Tuesday pictured Banks at a lunch rally hosted by the Vanderburgh County Republicans in Evansville. After the debate he posted about a comment made by President Joe Biden.
Banks represents the state’s 3rd Congressional District, centered around Fort Wayne — a seat he has held since 2017.
The trio are running to fill the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Mike Braun, who is vying for the Indiana governorship.
Inflation, health care and abortion
Debate commission member Laura Merrifield Wilson, a political science professor and host of WICR radio’s “Positively Politics,” moderated the debate. Questions were submitted by Hoosiers across the state and were not shared with candidates in advance.
Early questions in the debate centered around possible solutions for U.S. inflation, which McCray said “has gone down” thanks to the Biden administration.
“But keep in mind that most of what we see — the kitchen table issues — are mostly about price gouging,” she added. “At a time when (companies) are making record profits.”
Horning, on the other hand, pointed to “the whole Federal Reserve System,” which he proposed “we end as soon as we can.”
“This is also a problem that the plutocrats that are running this whole system are benefiting from,” he said. “The rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer, and it’s by design. That’s just how the Fed works, and we need to end it.”
When asked about health care costs and ensuring aging Americans have access to Social Security, McCray said Congress needs to focus on “making taxes fair.”
“We have to make sure that our Social Security taxes are in line with what people make,” she said. “If we concentrate on fairness and make sure that everyone’s paying their fair share, we can fix Social Security and Medicare.”
Horning said federal lawmakers should instead “change the funding recipe for Social Security and Medicare.”
“Really, only Libertarians, so far, have been the ones that have been pushing solutions that don’t involve raising the age of retirement and cutting benefits,” he noted. “With the inflation rate what it is right now, and with more coming very soon, I think you’re going to see that Social Security and Medicare are in big, big danger if we don’t do something very fast.”
Hoosiers wanted to know about the candidates’ stances on abortion rights, too.
Horning said the issue should “absolutely be left to the states.”
“We’ve made way too many things federal, and we’ve made too few things state. We’re supposed to have a decentralized government with more local decision making,” he continued. “I want individual rights in every kind of respect, but I also understand that the more you centralize things, the more trouble you get when you get the wrong guy in power.”
McCray took a different — but firm — position.
“I’m totally for the individual. I trust women to make their own decisions about abortion, about their health care. I trust the doctors to be able to make decisions with those families. States do not need to be in the exam room. That’s the bottom line,” she said. “The fact of the matter is that we need this to be codified into our Constitution — the right to make your own decision. We can’t have it state-by-state. It is a right to make decisions about our own body. I trust women to do that.”
Immigration and foreign conflicts — and why they should be picked
On immigration, McCray said she would not make the issue “a political pawn.” She emphasized that the United States’ economy “has grown because of immigrants,” and that Congress has a duty to “make sure their lives are safe.”
Horning said the country “needs more people coming here for a better life,” but blamed the U.S. for its current border issues.
“We’ve been bombing half the planet,” he said. “We’ve made refugees out of half the planet. We’ve got a lot of people here that are angry, and we’re paying to bring them in.”
The two contenders varied on overseas conflicts, as well.
Horning made clear that the U.S. should “absolutely cease” financial support to Ukraine, while McCray said she’s “all for supporting Ukraine and pushing back on Russia.”
And in regards to Israel, the Democrat conceded “there are going to be no winners in this war,” but she wants to see a ceasefire.
“The situation in Gaza, the situation in Palestine, Israel — it has to stop,” McCray said. “We need to start the healing process. That’s the bottom line. I do think it can be resolved, but the sooner we stop fighting, the sooner they stop bombing, the sooner we get to a safe zone.”
Horning said U.S. “interference” in the conflict has “done nothing but cause trouble.”
“I’ve got to remind everybody that we are broke,” he said. “If we keep doing what we’re doing — where half the discretionary spending of Congress is on war — we’re sunk.”
Both McCray and Horning previously told the Indiana Capital Chronicle they’ve never met their GOP competitor before, and they don’t expect to in the week leading up to the election.
Banks, the GOP favorite, has already spent nearly eight years in Congress, has a multimillion-dollar campaign war chest and an endorsement from former President Donald Trump.
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Top-of-list issues for Banks include border security, veteran support, national defense and “opposing wokeness” in schools.
His campaign website cites support for numerous Trump administration priorities and points to “pro-growth” economic policies — like tax cuts — as well as decreased government spending and “conservative” election integrity reforms like “voter ID, fair poll watching, and swift counting of ballots.”
The final question in Tuesday’s debate asked candidates why they Hoosiers should send them to the U.S. Senate.
“I’m the only one who would really give you something phenomenally different. Marble walls in Washington, D.C. would crack if a Libertarian got elected to the U.S. Senate, and I think most of you understand that,” Horning told Hoosiers. “What it would mean is that you, the voter, have decided that you have had a change of heart and mind and spirit, and you want something different — certainly something different.”
McCray said “Hoosier need leadership that’s going to unite us, not divide us.”
“That’s what I’m committed to. People have a choice here,” she concluded. “Do they want the opportunity to make a choice for their own lives? Decide what they want for their own bodies? They want to make sure that we support families and daycare, and making sure we have those things that make our lives work. My opponent, my main opponent, is not here today. And he’s not here because he disrespects Indiana Hoosiers and will not stand in the same place and support or talk about what he’s for – and I’m against that.”
Photo: AP Pool
