For the seventh year in Columbia City, nearly 240 people joined Rep. Jim Banks for his Annual Banks Barbecue on Tuesday to support his re-election.
Since 2015, Banks has held this event every summer to get Indiana constituents together. In the past, Banks has had Minority Whip Steve Scalise and Rep. Jim Jordan join him at this event, but this year, he was able to be joined by Sen. Mike Braun, Rep. Ronny Jackson, and Rep. Larry Bucshon. With having four prominent lawmakers at this event, it attracted many more people to come.
Toward the beginning, dozens of attendees were able to speak with each member of Congress to introduce themselves, ask any questions, and even take photos. As this event was $100 per person to attend, most attendees took advantage of these opportunities.
After about an hour of the event starting, Banks began giving a speech about how thankful he was to be representing the third district of Indiana. He also gave a shoutout to almost every candidate running at the event, along with thanking each attendee for being there.
"A lot of local elected officials, state legislators, friends and family, I get to bring them all together in the same place and be with a lot of friends and supporters," Banks said. "To me that's very humbling because these are the people that do the most to support me and send me to Washington to represent them and fight for them so to have them all in the same place in the same night makes it a very special affair."
Throughout the entire event, everyone seemed to be in an enthusiastic mood for the upcoming election. Between hearing about legislation the members of Congress have been working on to how the GOP will win the U.S. House and Senate back, every attendee continued to become more and more eager for November.
A former intern of Banks, Matthew Stachler, attended his fourth Annual Banks Barbecue on Tuesday. He enjoyed having the opportunity to speak with the four lawmakers that had attended. Next year, he is hoping for no rain and possibly a larger venue, as he has been able to watch this event evolve every year.
"My favorite moment was just seeing Congressman Banks get all the applause and all the attention he deserves," Stachler said. "I'm just proud to support him and proud to have worked for him."
Besides the rain and a few microphone glitches, each attendee seemed to truly enjoy themselves throughout the event. The overall consensus was very positive in winning the U.S. House, Senate, and Presidency back by 2024. This event unquestionably got the crowd much more fired up to take back what they feel like is theirs!
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