Jim Banks

James Edward Banks is an American military veteran and politician who is the U.S. Representative for Indiana's 3rd congressional district. A Republican, he previously served as a member of the Indiana Senate. Banks was first elected to serve in the state senate for the 17th district in 2010, and upon military deployment to Afghanistan, he took a leave of absence from the state senate in September, 2014. Invoking an Indiana state law which allows state and local officeholders to take leaves of absence during active duty military service, Banks was temporarily replaced by his wife, Amanda Banks, who held the office for the senate's 2015 legislative session. He returned to Indiana from overseas duty on April 14, 2015 and resumed his duties as state senator on May 8, 2015. On May 3, 2016 he won the primary election for the Republican nomination for Indiana's 3rd congressional district.