Meet Dr. Valerie McCray, Indiana’s first Black woman U.S. Senate nominee

Get to know Dr. Valerie McCray. She is Indiana’s first black woman U.S. Senate nominee on the ticket of the Democratic Party. The 65-year-old secured the Democratic nomination in May 2024, after defeating her challenger, former state lawmaker and longtime lobbyist Marc Carmichael.

She is set to challenge Republican Congressman Jim Banks for the open seat to represent Indiana. Her top priorities include reinstating abortion rights, tackling ongoing immigration issues, and finding solutions to the “Israeli-Palestine issue” if elected in November, according to Indiana Capital Chronicle.

“The fact that I can claim victory in the Primary says one thing – the people of Indiana are ready for someone who understands their struggles.  Who will fight for mental health care, breathable wages, and reproductive rights!” she said in a statement.

A clinical psychologist, McCray has spent most of her career working in the aftermath of trauma, meaning she is the best person to ensure mental health is considered in decisions made at the U.S. Senate level, according to the Hamilton County Democratic Party.

She has served the U.S. military, evaluating thousands of servicemen and women suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain injuries from their experiences in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Gulf War, and Vietnam, the platform added.

Also, she has worked in over a dozen high-security prisons and jails in Indiana and Georgia. She has worked with victims of violence and families that have lost loved ones to violence, including helping young people live healthier lives irrespective of their situation.

A native Hoosier, McCray had her bachelor’s, master’s and PhD degrees from the University of Michigan. And after her long years of service, she believed that, as a black psychologist, there was something left unfinished in her work.

“It was a matter of, do I continue to keep feeling as if I am just not enough to go around, or do I go to Washington, D.C.,” McCray said. “Keep pushing, trying to get to Washington, D.C., to change the gun laws, to change the policies, to try to get health care, to try to get wages and policies that make sense, so that we have less of these issues coming down the line.”

Despite running for office, she plans to continue her clinical work while also advocating for policy changes if elected.