Trump-backed challenger narrows Indiana Senate deficit to 2 — with 3 more provisional ballots left

Title: Trump-backed challenger narrows Indiana Senate deficit to 2 — with 3 more provisional ballots left URL Source: https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/briefs/trump-backed-challenger-narrows-indiana-senate-deficit-to-2-with-3-more-provisional-ballots-left/ Published Time: 2026-05-11T20:00:12+00:00 Markdown Content: Three final provisional ballots could decide a hotly contested Indiana Senate Republican primary race by the slimmest margin this week — if the candidates or party officials don’t file for a recount. Sen. Spencer Deery, R-West Lafayette, led former Fountain County Clerk Paula Copenhaver by just four votes — 6,335 to 6,331 — in Indiana Election Division figures updated after Election Day. Deery’s lead narrowed to two on Monday with the counting of several provisional ballots for the seat representing District 23, which covers all or parts of six counties spanning much of the area between Lafayette and Terre Haute. A provisional ballot allows a person to cast their vote if it’s unclear that they’re qualified to vote in a precinct. The voter has 10 days after the election to give the county election board any required documentation or complete an affidavit about legal exceptions. The Fountain County Election Board met Monday to consider eight ballots. One, a mail-in vote missing a signature, had already been corrected by Election Day. “It was early on … We just don’t have that second option to put into our system that we had the cure,” Fountain County Clerk Patty Smith said. “So, on the reports that we had on Election Day, it said that it was marked as provisional.” The other seven were “true” provisional ballots, she said. The election board rejected five provisional ballots — “they were not registered to vote” — and accepted two. Combined with the mail-in ballot, Deery gained one vote and Copenhaver two. Montgomery County’s election board also met Monday to consider one provisional ballot, which went to Copenhaver, according to Clerk Sondra Sixberry. There are three more provisional ballots that could impact the race. Two are in Tippecanoe County. The election board will convene at 1 p.m. Friday to consider them. > Trump-backed candidates romp to wins in Indiana Senate races The other is in Parke County. A hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday. Senate District 23 also includes Warren and Vermillion counties. Clerk’s offices in each county confirmed they had zero provisional ballots that would impact the race. Candidates have until noon on May 19 to file a verified recount or contest petition, while party chairs have until noon on May 22, according to the Indiana Election Division’s election calendar. Copenhaver’s campaign declined to say whether she planned to seek a recount, pointing instead to her primary night statement predicting that she will “be declared the winner” after all provisional ballots are counted. “We believe we’re going to win, and it’s kind of trending that way right now,” said Daniel Bass, the campaign’s general consultant. Copenhaver nabbed an endorsement from President Donald Trump after Deery voted against a mid-cycle redraw of Indiana’s congressional maps benefiting Republicans. Of the 21 Republican senators who voted against redistricting, 10 were up for reelection this year. Two chose to retire, but of the remaining eight, only one other has survived a Trump-endorsed challenger: Sen. Greg Goode, R-Terre Haute.