Challenger seeks recount of 15-vote loss to Republican Sen. Liz Brown

The 15-vote margin between state Sen. Liz Brown and her Republican primary challenger is going to a recount.

Challenger Darren Vogt filed a recount petition Tuesday, asking for a review of all ballots cast in the Senate District 15 race.

Certified vote tallies for the district, which is entirely in Fort Wayne’s Allen County, gave Brown a lead of 5,241 to 5,226 over Vogt in the May 5 primary.

Brown is seeking her fourth term and faced a bitter primary against Vogt, who is a staffer to U.S. Sen. Jim Banks and was also supported by Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita.

Vogt said in a statement Tuesday that many voters had questions about Allen County’s ballot counting as local election officials blamed technical glitches that left them unable to complete preliminary tallies until the day after the primary.

“When elections are this close, voters deserve to know their voices were heard,” Vogt said. “Nothing is perfect — at this point, any minor mistake or unintentional human error changes the outcome.”

Brown countered that she believed Allen County officials ran the primary “with professionalism and integrity.” Brown said the recount will drag the primary on for at least weeks “when we need to turn our attention to uniting the party and winning decisively in November.”

“Vogt is choosing a costly and time-consuming recount over party unity,” Brown said in a statement. “Is his boss, Sen. Jim Banks, funding this endeavor, or is Attorney General Todd Rokita trying one final tactic to rid the Senate of its most independent conservative voice?

Brown supported last year’s congressional redistricting bill and was endorsed by President Donald Trump. She touted the vote count as a win, putting herself alongside Trump-endorsed candidates who defeated six Republican incumbents who voted against redistricting.

Another Trump-endorsed challenger, Paula Copenhaver, filed a recount petition Monday in her Republican primary race, where the certified count shows her trailing Sen. Spencer Deery of West Lafayette by three votes.