Indiana state senator Spencer Deery was declared the winner of his Republican primary by the state Supreme Court on Thursday following a months-long recount. The ruling sets aside a commission’s decision that had favored Trump-backed challenger Paula Copenhaver and secures Deery’s place on the November general election ballot.
The Indiana Supreme Court ended months of legal uncertainty by affirming a narrow three-vote victory for incumbent Republican state Sen. Spencer Deery in the primary for Senate District 23. The decision sets aside a final determination from the Indiana Recount Commission, which had previously given challenger Paula Copenhaver a three-vote lead following a dispute over disqualified ballots.
Indiana Supreme Court Reverses Recount Commission Decision Over Disqualified Ballots
The legal battle hinged on ballots that the Indiana Recount Commission threw out in early August 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.
However, a majority of the state’s Supreme Court set aside the commission’s final determination that Copenhaver had received the higher number of votes. The court concluded that Republicans on the three-member commission overseeing the recount incorrectly threw out six ballots and flipped the race for Copenhaver. The court concluded that state law barred the commissioners from disqualifying ballots that lacked county clerk signatures or initials from election officials because those errors were caused by election officials and not voters.
“Indiana Code section 3-12-1-12 makes a qualifying ballot legally countable despite a defect caused by an election officer,” the court’s initial order read.
Chief Justice Loretta Rush stated that the court would issue a written opinion explaining its reasoning in greater depth at a later date. With the recount concluded, the court certified that Deery beat challenger Paula Copenhaver by three votes and ordered that his name appear on the general election ballot in November. The court said Deery secured 6,335 votes to Copenhaver’s 6,332.
Primary Contest Tied to 2025 Redistricting Battle With Donald Trump
An Indiana state senator who bucked President Donald Trump’s demand for a gerrymandered congressional map in the state will likely keep his seat after the state Supreme Court Thursday declared him the victor in an extremely close primary race. In affirming state Sen. Spencer Deery’s three-vote victory over a Trump-endorsed candidate, the Indiana Supreme Court ended a months-long recount process. Its ruling also likely deals a serious blow to future Republican redistricting efforts in the Hoosier State.
Deery was one of the seven Republican state lawmakers in Indiana who refused to vote for the president’s proposed mid-decade congressional gerrymander, despite facing immense political pressure from the White House. State Sen. Spencer Deery was part of a contingent of GOP state senators last year that blocked Trump’s plan to redraw the state’s congressional map to boost Republicans’ chances of capturing two more U.S. House seats. Trump and his allies in Indiana targeted those holdouts in the state’s May primaries. Trump targeted seven state senators in Republican primaries in May, and candidates he backed won five of those races. Of the seven, only state Sen. Greg Goode — and now Deery — survived.
Deery faced a challenge from Paula Copenhaver, an aide to Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith and chair of the Fountain County Republican Party. The contest came down to just a handful of votes, which set off a recount process.
Reactions and the Upcoming General Election Ballot
Deery said Thursday in a post on X that he was pleased by the court’s ruling.
“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.”
Sen. Spencer Deery
Copenhaver’s campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
In the general election, Deery faces West Lafayette City Council member David Sanders, a Democrat, and independent Joshua Brant.
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