The Indiana Supreme Court on Thursday declared state Sen. Spencer Deery the Republican primary winner against Trump-endorsed challenger Paula Copenhaver.
The court issued its decision after hearing arguments over whether the Indiana Recount Commission properly disallowed six votes for Deery, which gave Copenhaver a three-vote edge.
As a result, Deery will be the Republican nominee for Indiana Senate District 23.
State Senate Primary Race Flipped In Favor Of Trump-Endorsed Candidate After Recount
NBC News shared further:
In the order, Chief Justice Loretta Rush said the court would issue a written opinion further explaining its reasons at a later date.
Deery, who has served in the state Senate since 2022, was among the Republican state senators who voted down a redrawn congressional map in Indiana in 2025 that President Donald Trump supported as part of a broader mid-decade redistricting push across the nation. The GOP senators faced primary challengers earlier this year, and several of the incumbents lost, while Deery led Copenhaver by three votes, which she challenged.
ADVERTISEMENTTrump backed Copenhaver, an aide to Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith and chair of the Fountain County Republican Party.
The recount in the race had put Copenhaver in the lead in early August after the Indiana Recount Commission threw out 10 votes mainly for technical reasons involving missing election official signatures on some ballots, the Indiana Capital Chronicle reported at the time, giving Copenhaver a three-vote lead.
"I am so proud to be a Hoosier and am obviously very pleased by the Indiana Supreme Court’s decision today, but this case was bigger than any of us who were involved with it," Deery said.
"We could never have secure elections in our state if our votes could be invalidated by government error or malfeasance. Instead, in Indiana, we have set a precedent that says if you do everything right, your right to vote is sacred and protected," he continued.
"Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me along this journey, and especially to my amazing wife, who has been by my side through all of it—including literally by my side in the courtroom today," he added.
I am so proud to be a Hoosier and am obviously very pleased by the Indiana Supreme Court’s decision today, but this case was bigger than any of us who were involved with it.
We could never have secure elections in our state if our votes could be invalidated by government error… pic.twitter.com/6AlukjHm6P
— Spencer Deery (@SpencerDeery) September 10, 2026
More from Indiana Capital Chronicle:
The court’s order directed the Recount Commission to certify Deery with 6,335 votes to Copenhaver’s 6,332 votes in Senate District 23, which spans all or parts of six counties in the area between Lafayette and Terre Haute.
“Election preparations for District 23 shall resume using candidate Spencer R. Deery’s name on the ballot as the Republican candidate for Senate District 23,” the order said.
Copenhaver, the Fountain County Republican chair and a staffer to Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, said in a statement that she ran for the Senate seat “to hold elected representatives accountable to put Hoosiers and America first.”
ADVERTISEMENT“The last step in this Republican primary nominating process was ended by the Indiana Supreme Court reversing the Indiana Recount Commission’s decision to count absentee ballots which lacked statutorily required markers of authenticity,” Copenhaver said. “While I disagree with the Court’s decision, which leaves open the potential of inauthentic ballots to be counted, I respect the Court’s right to their opinion. I wish Senator Deery all the best, and pray he delivers for District 23.”
