Indiana
Carmichael vs. McCray: Two Democrats vie to face off against Banks in U.S. Senate race • Indiana Capital Chronicle
Third District Congressman Jim Banks has been running for the Senate like he has an opponent, and primary voters on May 7 will give him one.
Two Democrats want the nomination — Marc Carmichael and Dr. Valerie McCray — both of whom said that reinstating abortion rights and tackling ongoing immigration issues are among their top priorities, if elected.
Still, it’s been more than a decade since Hoosiers sent a Democrat, Joe Donnelly, to the U.S. Senate.
McCray, a clinical psychologist, is championing mental and reproductive healthcare, emphasizing that her work in the field, as well as her “personal and up close experiences as a female,” make her best suited to tackle policy solutions on those topics.
A former state lawmaker and longtime lobbyist, Carmichael said he’s looking to model himself after Indiana’s senior U.S. Sen. Todd Young and find bipartisan solutions to issues affecting Hoosiers.
“My whole political career I spent working with Republicans, making friendships with Republicans that I’ve maintained to this day, and I think we’ve got to get back to that if we’re ever going to get things done and quit these culture wars that we have now,” Carmichael said. “I just do not want someone out of that ‘chaos caucus’ in the U.S. House, like Banks, to be my United States senator. That means I’ve got to run.”
Banks, a GOP favorite who has already spent nearly eight years in Congress, has a multimillion-dollar campaign war chest and an endorsement from former President Donald Trump. Even so, both Democratic contenders said they’re confident they could win over Banks in this November’s general election. Hoosiers, they said, are looking for someone more moderate and less “extreme.”
“I think Jim Banks is focused on divisive issues. How do we round people up? How do we make them angry? How do we make them feel that someone else is getting something that they are not, that somehow they’re being shorted?” McCray said. “There is, I believe, so many more commonalities among people. I can unite all these groups, regardless of whatever their political signage is.”
Banks is unopposed in the Republican primary after Seymour egg farmer John Rust was removed due to Indiana’s two-primary rule. Also confirmed on this fall’s general election ballot is Libertarian Andrew Horning, who was selected as the party’s candidate during its annual convention last month.
The Senate seat is being vacated by Republican Mike Braun, who is currently vying for the GOP nomination in Indiana’s gubernatorial race.
‘Uniting’ Hoosiers and increasing healthcare access
McCray first launched a Senate campaign two years ago. She didn’t get enough voter signatures to make it on the ballot, however, calling the signature campaign “a horrendous, complicated task.”
But this time around, McCray said her grassroots team was “relentless,” having learned from past runs “how not to get distracted and where to go for signatures.” She reached the 4,500 signatures needed “with time to spare.”
Federal campaign finance data shows Carmichael raised nearly $112,000 through mid-April. McCray has raised a little more than $14,000. Banks has raised more than $4.1 million this election cycle so far. There are no federal reports on Horning’s Senate fundraising as of mid-April.
“Every time I do these campaigns, it’s a financial sacrifice for me. It leaves me struggling, usually. And then I have to get into gear to make that up,” said McCray, who also ran a brief campaign for president in 2020. “But I’m thankful for that process because it makes me remember what my constituents are going through.”
She was working within several Indiana prisons when she initially made the decision to seek federal office.
“So many things I was seeing in there were going wrong,” McCray said, in part pointing to mistreatment of transgender inmates. “We need someone in office that is really sensitive to these issues — that are sensitive to the mental health issues.”
Although immigration isn’t “top of the list” for McCray, she said “it gets in the way of things that should be … like our schools and our medical care system, and addressing climate change.”
Immigration is important for me because it’s in the way of reasonable conversations to get the whole society going.
“In Indiana, we need migrant workers to help with our farming, to help with some of the infrastructure things — we’re using these people to get our economy rolling. But yet, still, we have this conversation that is so negative,” she said. “Immigration is important for me because it’s in the way of reasonable conversations to get the whole society going. Let’s speed up the process to make sure that people are safe coming over … and let’s move onto other things.”
McCray said the “Israeli-Palestine issue” is among those other topics.
“What’s going on now feels cruel, one-sided. It feels like we’re not holding the values of both people equally,” she said. “It would have been so nice to get a two state solution. I don’t know if we can go back to that. My goal is to make sure that we can try to heal that situation and find a solution. But in the meantime, we’re not going to be able to find a solution if we don’t stop the killing.”
Seeking return to elected office
Although retired from politics, Carmichael said he was compelled to run for the open Senate seat after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
“I have four granddaughters … and now, they don’t have the same rights that their moms and their grandmothers had for 50 years,” he said. “I’ve got to do something about that.”
Carmichael said his Indiana Statehouse resumé is a testament to what he can accomplish in Congress. He additionally pointed to his first race for the Indiana House in 1986, when he was up against J. Roberts Dailey, then the Republican House Speaker.
“He was sitting in a 60% Republican district, and no one thought that I could beat him. Starting in July with a cheap little brochure, I went door to door because I didn’t have any money, but I had the time after work. I would spend a couple of hours each evening in the precincts, handing out that brochure and getting to know people,” Carmichael said. His shoe leather campaigning helped him secure an 18-point margin — “a huge upset” — over Dailey that fall.
I just do not want someone out of that ‘chaos caucus’ in the U.S. House, like Banks, to be my United States senator. That means I’ve got to run.
– Democratic hopeful Marc Carmichael
“The perception is that statewide in Indiana, Democrats can’t win. And yet I’ve been in that situation before, and I know the only thing you can do is just work and go places and meet people and make speeches,” Carmichael continued. “I know what’s ahead of me. I know how to do that.”
In the U.S. Senate, he would quickly seek to work on banning the sale of assault weapons, requiring universal background checks for those purchasing firearms and enacting a national “red flag” law to ensure guns don’t end up in the wrong hands.
“We need to try and do what we can to affect gun violence and mass shootings that occur and are enabled by the purchase of assault weapons,” Carmichael said.
“Immediate action on global warming” is also high on his to-do list, along with affordable housing, especially in rural regions, and a “Medicare for All” plan, so “everyone has access to medical care — especially our our LGBTQ youth, who are being used as political pawns by rightwing Republican legislatures.”
With the Democratic nominees for president and governor already effectively secured, Carmichael said he’s hoping that Democrats still show up for the primary and cast their votes in the Senate race.
“I want to defend our democracy against Trumpism. Banks is a Trumper, through and through, and I just can’t imagine how bad things could get if Trump and Banks were elected at the same time, along with Braun and (Indiana Attorney General) Todd Rokita,” Carmichael said.
“This is a campaign that is going to be dominated by women and people who support women coming out to vote,” he continued. “If they come out in the way I think they’re going to come out, and if the people who are upset about gun violence come out, and if the people who are upset about global warming come out, and if the people are concerned about our LGBTQ youth come out, and people who are concerned about democracy or housing — if all those groups come out and vote the way I think they’re going to vote, then I think I’ll be just fine.”
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Caitlin Clark explains what she learned from injury in Indiana Fever season
Caitlin Clark spoke for seven minutes on the opening day of Indiana Fever training camp. Here’s what she learned from an up-and-down season, and more.
INDIANAPOLIS — Caitlin Clark has some new strategies to help keep her loose throughout games, and one garnered a lot of attention in the Indiana Fever’s season opener against the Dallas Wings.
Saturday was Clark’s first regular season WNBA game since July 2025, when she suffered a right groin injury against the Connecticut Sun. She was limited to just 13 games last season because of various injuries that compounded and lingered throughout the season, including to her left groin, right groin, left quad, and ankle.
Clark, who finished with 20 points, five rebounds and seven assists in 30 minutes, went back to the Fever’s tunnel twice throughout the 107-104 loss, and she said postgame it was just to get her back readjusted. It’s something new for the Fever star after she missed most of last season because of various injuries, but she didn’t report any major issues with her back.
“It gets out of line pretty quickly,” Clark said. “It’s just that, getting my back put back in place a little bit, but other than that, I feel great.”
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Clark also started wearing a heat therapy pad on her back as well when she’s on the bench, but that doesn’t automatically mean an injury, either. Former Fever player Natasha Howard wore one while sitting on the bench the entire 2025 season, and she did not miss a game.
These back issues, Fever coach Stephanie White said, shouldn’t keep her out of the game.
“We wouldn’t have played her 30 minutes if she wasn’t OK,” White said.
Clark’s response postgame came after ABC’s commentators reported in-game that trainers were working on Clark’s hip flexor and groin area — the same that kept her out of most of the 2025 season. When asked about ABC’s in-game report, White said: “That would be the first time I’ve heard that.”
Fever communications staff added that they did not provide an official update to ABC on why Clark left for the tunnel, so everything reported on the broadcast in-game was speculation.
“I think it’s just part of maintaining the body,” White added of the tunnel trips. “… I mean, look, when we’re all really young, we don’t learn proper mechanics, and then it doesn’t get exposed until something happens, and we’re trying to get her body mechanically the way it needs to go. This is gonna be an ongoing thing, and not just her. We’ve had multiple players who have gone back, and we don’t have a blue tent, right, but they’re gonna go back and get it adjusted and make sure that the body’s working.”
Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at chloe.peterson@indystar.com or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67. Get IndyStar’s Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter. Subscribe to IndyStar TV: Fever for in-depth analysis, behind-the-scenes coverage and more.
The six towns below all sit within a two-hour drive of downtown Indianapolis, close enough for a quick trip into the city, far enough that housing money goes considerably further. Each one brings something specific to the trade. Frankfort pairs lower-than-state-median home values with a small-town pace and an 18-hole course right next to its top assisted-living campus. Connersville has a working heritage railroad running through downtown and a population where nearly one in five residents is already over 65. Greenville, just over the Ohio line, splits the difference between Indianapolis and Dayton and still keeps a Main Street that earns the name.
Frankfort, IN
About 40 minutes from Indianapolis, Frankfort is one of the best blends of senior resources and affordability around the capital. Rent comes in well below the average inside Indianapolis city limits per Zillow, and home values sit below the state median. Combined with healthcare at IU Health Frankfort Hospital and senior living communities like Wesley Manor, independence in retirement is realistic here.
Things happen at a slower pace, which might be just the speed a senior is looking for in a new community. The historic downtown holds shops and eateries like the locally loved Downtown Diner. For golf, Frankfort Commons Golf Course is a well-maintained 18-hole course right next to the Wesley Manor campus.
Crawfordsville, IN
Crawfordsville sits roughly 55 minutes from downtown Indianapolis and offers an affordable alternative for retirees who want some distance from the city. The proximity keeps seniors connected to a wealth of resources when they’re not using in-town options like emergency and specialty care at Franciscan Health Crawfordsville or social programming at the Crawfordsville Community Center. The cost of living here runs 10% below the national average per the Economic Research Institute, with rent and home values below the state median.
Cultural life is a big draw, much of it tied to Wabash College’s programming. The town was also the home of Lew Wallace, who wrote Ben-Hur, and residents can dig into that history at the General Lew Wallace Study & Museum. Outdoor options include Turkey Run State Park’s views and trails or Sugar Creek Nature Park’s nearly 64 acres for birdwatching.
Shelbyville, IN
Shelbyville sits about 35 minutes from downtown Indianapolis. Its centuries-old architecture is a draw, and its commitment to senior living is solid. Ashford Place Health Campus is a top-tier assisted living facility with a life enrichment team on site. Healthcare is conveniently placed via the Indianapolis proximity, with smaller clinics in town for specialty and short-term care. Home values run below the state median per Zillow.
To see the ‘Streets of Old Shelby,’ visit the Grover Center Museum and Historical Society. The free attraction has storefronts from the early 1900s, including a bank, post office, and saloon. The Historic Strand Theatre opened in 1916 and still plays films, hosts concerts, and works as a community gathering spot. A few miles away, Horseshoe Indianapolis offers horse racing and casino games for anyone wanting a livelier change of pace.
Connersville, IN
Connersville has long been a solid option for seniors, which is probably why nearly 20% of the population is over 65. The town sits about an hour and 15 minutes from Indianapolis, a reasonable drive for those commuting regularly. The cost of living offsets the distance, falling below the national average across most categories. If assisted living becomes a need, places like Hickory Creek promote independent living with various levels of assistance.
Standing here since 1813, Connersville blends history and nature for retirees ready for a slower pace. The historic downtown district has a few protected properties, including the Canal House, a museum focused on Fayette County’s history. The Whitewater Valley Railroad runs along the historic Whitewater Canal on diesel locomotives with a direct connection to Metamora. Connersville is also a gateway to Brookville Lake, with 25 miles of shoreline and access for fishing, camping, and hiking.
Greenville, OH
Crossing into Ohio, Greenville sits about an hour and forty-five minutes from Indianapolis and only about 50 minutes from Dayton. The cost of living runs below the national average, including a $650 a month median rent that comes in below what people pay in Indianapolis. Connection is another big draw, starting with Wayne HealthCare’s facilities, which now include a helipad and robotic technology for orthopedic surgeries. For assisted living, Trustwell Senior Living at Oakley Place is a top option.
Greenville works for seniors looking for an American Main Street town. Local history is on display at the Garst Museum & National Annie Oakley Center. The historic downtown has many protected facades and shops including the Maid-Rite Sandwich Shoppe, which has been there since 1934. Greenville also hosts the Great Darke County Fair in August, with entertainment, showcases, rides, and harness racing.
Richmond, IN
About an hour and 15 minutes from downtown Indianapolis, Richmond is one of the most cost-effective and connected options on the entire list. The general cost of living runs below the national average and below Indiana’s average. Reid Health’s campus covers emergency, cardiovascular, orthopedic, and vascular care. The town has multiple senior amenities including Springs of Richmond and the Friends Fellowship Community for retirees who need more attention as they age.
Richmond has historical depth from several angles. Wayne County’s evolution gets the full treatment at the Wayne County Historical Museum, housed in an old Quaker house from the 19th century. Richmond was also home to Gennett Records, a recording studio that produced songs for Louis Armstrong and Bix Beiderbecke, now honored at the Gennett Records Walk of Fame. The arts side runs through the Civic Hall Performing Arts Center, with a packed performance calendar from Richmond’s own professional symphony.
Towns near Indianapolis can mean greater savings for seniors without giving up the resources of the big city. Each of the six places listed brings something different, whether it’s the Maid-Rite Sandwich Shoppe in Greenville serving loose meat sandwiches since 1934 or riding the rails on refurbished diesel locomotives from downtown Connersville.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A business owner on the city’s south side on Friday morning reported a theft, saying a person stole thousands of dollars’ worth of Pokémon cards from his store.
Security footage captured the suspect breaking into Grandmaster Games and targeting valuable card collections.
The thief gained entry by breaking through a window and immediately went to a display case containing high-value cards.
The suspect bypassed six other display cases, making a direct route to the owner’s private collection, which included a One Piece card alone worth approximately $12,000. Other stolen cards are valued between $5,000 and $6,000 each.
Alex Bradshaw, owner of Grandmaster Games, said many people underestimate the value of such collectibles. “People think ‘cardboard,’ not really worth a lot. Except for these instances where a bunch of stuff gets taken. You can see the suspect trying to break into the display case, but couldn’t get it open.”
Bradshaw described the suspect’s actions inside the store. “He came over here to where our Pokémon cases are, and he smashed one of our cases that had our ungraded cards. Took the top row of those and moved on to graded cards.”
Approximately 60 Pokémon cards were stolen during the break-in, with their total value estimated to be between $10,000 and $15,000. The suspect was inside the store for only about five or six minutes.
Bradshaw thinks the suspect had prior knowledge of the store’s layout due to the targeted nature of the theft. “Because if you aren’t familiar with my store, you wouldn’t necessarily know to go to this display case because this has stuff of value.”
Grandmaster Games has been in business for about a decade, and it’s the first break-in the store has experienced.
Following the theft, Bradshaw is reconsidering how he displays his valuable collection. “I don’t know if I’m going to completely take this display down because there’s a lot of cool nostalgic stuff from the last 20 years — especially the Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! items. But the manga collection is definitely going into the safe. I realize having this stuff out makes me a target.”
With the PopCon Indy convention underway during the weekend at the downtown Indiana Convention Center, Bradshaw was concerned the stolen cards could easily be sold or concealed among other merchandise.
Despite the significant loss, Bradshaw has expressed a desire not to press charges. He attributes the theft to potential desperation and indicated he would rather offer assistance than punishment. “Nobody steals because they want to. They steal because they need to. Most of the time, people are at the end of the rope. They want something easy, which you can’t blame them for wanting something easy. If you need some help, most of us are willing to help one way or another.”
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department encouraged anyone with information regarding the theft to contact them.
Bradshaw said he simply wants his cards returned.
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