The Indiana Recount Commission announced on August 10, 2026, that it has overturned the results of the May Republican primary election, awarding victory to Paula Copenhaver, a candidate supported by former President Donald Trump, in the west-central Senate district. Copenhaver had initially lost to incumbent state Senator Spencer Deery by three votes but filed a recount petition citing voter fraud allegations, claiming some voters who participated in the Republican primary were registered Democrats.
During the recount, the commission rejected eight ballots for Deery and two for Copenhaver, which changed the outcome in favor of Copenhaver. The disqualified ballots lacked the required signatures and initials from election officials, as mandated by Indiana law for absentee ballots.
In response to the commission's decision, Deery criticized the recount process as an attempt to undermine voter intent and stated that he would appeal the decision in the Indiana Court of Appeals. He argued that valid votes should not be discarded due to minor clerical errors.
Copenhaver had previously alleged that she identified approximately a dozen individuals who claimed to be Democrats on social media and voted in the Republican primary. She also sought subpoenas for election officials' testimony regarding absentee ballot processing, which were denied by the commission. This outcome marks Deery as the seventh of eight Republicans to lose to Trump-backed candidates in the Indiana primaries.