The Republican primary elections for two Indiana Senate seats featuring endorsements from President Donald Trump are still too close to call, and it appears voters and other interested parties will have to be patient — even as both candidates in one of the races have declared victory.
Trump already had a successful election night in Indiana as he sought to punish lawmakers who voted against redistricting, but if he’s victorious in the remaining two races, all but two of his endorsed candidates will have won.
In state Senate District 23, which borders Illinois, the West Lafayette incumbent Spencer Deery is ahead of challenger Paula Copenhaver by just four votes, according to the latest count.
But both candidates believe they have won.
“We did it!,” Deery said in a Facebook post just before 11 p.m. on election night. “Thank you to everyone who made this victory possible. It was a challenging and close race.”
Copenhaver, who was backed by Trump in the primary election, released a statement declaring victory about 30 minutes after her opponent’s Facebook post.
“After all provisional ballots are counted, we will prevail and be declared the winner of this race,” Copenhaver said in her statement.
Neither The Associated Press nor Decision Desk HQ have called the race for either candidate. The Republican primary election for Indiana‘s Senate District 15 also remains too close call.
In that race, Fort Wayne incumbent Liz Brown leads her challenger, Darren Vogt, by just 15 votes, with more than 95% of the votes counted, according to Decision Desk HQ.
Brown, who was endorsed by Trump, has declared victory in that contest.
“This was a long primary season, with a Senate District 15 primary fight that never needed to happen,” Brown said in her statement declaring victory. “Voters had a clear choice of two very different candidates. They chose the unwavering pro-life conservative who stands on principle, no matter the cost.”
Vogt, who was backed by U.S. Sen. Jim Banks, released a statement and has not conceded.
“After a 9-month campaign and two days of counting votes, the unofficial count is effectively tied,” Vogt said in his statement. “Out of respect for the voters and the process, we are exploring all of our options to ensure every legal vote is counted and every voice is heard.”
What happens next in Indiana Senate races too close to call?
Candidates have to wait until noon on May 15 to file a verified recount petition, according to the 2026 Indiana election calendar.
The reason for the delay is to give local election officials time to finalize results, Becky Lyons, who works in voter registration for the Fountain County Clerk’s Office, told IndyStar.
Fountain County as well as Parke, Vermillion, Warren and portions of Montgomery and Tippecanoe counties are included in state Senate District 23, where the Republican primary results are still unclear.
Lyons added that local elections officials have until May 15 to process provisional ballots and calculate the final election results. After that, candidates or party chairs can file a petition for a recount.
The results for these two state Senate races are lingering, but in five other districts, the candidates endorsed by Trump won and ousted state lawmakers who voted against redistricting.
Deery, the incumbent in Indiana Senate District 23, voted against redistricting and Trump weighed in on his race in favor of his opponent, Copenhaver.
In the state Senate District 15 race, Brown was in favor of redistricting and backed by Trump, but she was challenged by Vogt, a staffer for Banks.
Banks’ Hoosier Leadership For America organization put millions into state Senate races, but in most cases he supported conservative candidates challenging incumbent state senators who helped kill Trump’s redistricting plans here. The Senate District 15 race was a rare example of him breaking with Trump on endorsements.
So far, multiple outlets have called five races in favor of Trump-endorsed candidates who took on incumbents:
Only one race featuring a Trump-endorsed challenger has been called in favor of an incumbent so far. The two outlets named Sen. Greg Goode, R-Terre Haute, who voted against redistricting, the winner of his three-way primary in Senate District 38.
Banks boasted about the victories in a statement on election night.
“Everyone in Indiana politics should have learned an important lesson today: President Trump is the single most popular Republican among Hoosier voters,” he said. “Indiana is a conservative state, and we deserve conservatives in our State Senate who have a pulse on Republican voters.”
IndyStar reporter Kayla Dwyer contributed to this article.
Contact Jake Allen at jake.allen@indystar.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @Jake_Allen19. Click here to get Hamilton County news sent straight to your inbox and subscribe to the IndyStar North newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: 2 Trump-endorsed Indiana Senate Republican primaries too close to call. What’s next?
Reporting by Jake Allen, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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