The political fallout from Indiana’s redistricting fight continued to reshape the state Senate landscape this year, with five Republican senators who opposed redrawing the maps ahead of the 2026 midterms losing their primaries to challengers backed by President Donald Trump.
One contest, however, remained unresolved after election night. In State Senate District 23, incumbent Spencer Deery held a razor-thin three-vote advantage over Trump-endorsed challenger Paula Copenhaver, leaving the race too close to call.
Copenhaver pledged to contest the outcome, and her case ultimately gained traction before the Indiana Recount Commission, which favored her challenge.
The recount changed the result: Copenhaver overcame Deery’s three-vote lead and was certified as the winner, a striking reminder of how decisive a handful of ballots can be.
According to reporting shared by Jacob Stewart, the votes removed from Deery’s total were largely tied to election administration issues, such as missing stamps, rather than voters’ social media activity.
— Jacob Stewart (@jstewartIndy) August 10, 2026
Copenhaver’s certified victory gives Trump-backed candidates another win in Indiana’s GOP primaries and adds to the list of incumbents unseated after resisting the redistricting push.
The District 23 outcome also underscores the stakes of recounts in ultra-close races, where procedural details and ballot handling can determine the final margin.
An incumbent state senator lost his race after a high-stakes recount threw out several ballots, leading his Trump-backed challenger to claim victory.
The three-person commission, which includes Republican Secretary of State Diego Morales, certified that Paula Copenhaver won the primary by three votes, defeating state Sen. Spencer Deery.
After the May 5 primary, Deery narrowly won by three votes. However, four months later, the opposing campaign of Paula Copenhaver was successful in rejecting eight votes cast for Deery, largely due to missing initials and stamps. Copenhaver also lost two counted votes.
Copenhaver, who was one of several candidates pitted against sitting senators as part of Trump’s redistricting-fueled retribution, has argued that the ballots of left-leaning voters who crossed over to vote for her opponent and talked about it on social media should be invalidated. However, that argument was unsuccessful. Instead, Deery lost votes on other grounds.
According to the Indiana Capital Chronicle, on Monday, 10 votes were thrown out by the Commission over minor errors. Eight of those votes were for Deery, and two were for Copenhaver, which gave her a three-vote edge. The new certified vote totals from the May primary give Copenhaver 6,332 votes to Deery’s 6,329.
The three-member Recount Commission was divided 2-1 on tossing out seven of the eight votes that Deery lost, with the other one decided unanimously. The decisions on removing the two Copenhaver votes were unanimous.
THREE votes. This is why people must vote.
Deery is decrying the Commission’s decision, alleging the will of the voters has been overturned. Deery plans to challenge the Recount Commission result in appellate court.
Today, we saw members of the Indiana Recount Commission attempt to undermine the will of voters by treating ballots differently based on whether they furthered the president’s political goals. This was not a meeting intended to find fairness; it was designed to find votes.…
— Spencer Deery (@SpencerDeery) August 10, 2026
Today, we saw members of the Indiana Recount Commission attempt to undermine the will of voters by treating ballots differently based on whether they furthered the president’s political goals. This was not a meeting intended to find fairness; it was designed to find votes. Indiana law makes clear that valid votes should not be silenced simply because of minor errors made by clerks — clerks who were supposed to be trained by the chairman of this very commission.
Fortunately, this commission does not get the last word. We are confident Indiana’s appellate courts will restore the vote totals that have been counted and recounted, and reaffirm me as the choice voters made for the Republican nomination in Senate District 23.
Copenhaver is supremely confident that this victory will withstand a court challenge.
“I think there was a mandate throughout the whole state regarding the redistricting, and what I have found is that a lot of people are afraid to vocalize their position,” Copenhaver said. “They don’t speak up for fear of retribution. I’m not afraid.”
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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