State Sen. Spencer Deery (R-West Lafayette) is raising questions about connections between the recount commission that overturned his win and the Trump-backed candidate he opposed.
Earlier this week, Deery’s three-vote win in Senate District 23 was overturned by the Indiana Recount Commission. The three-member commission ruled ten votes ineligible because of technical errors, including lack of a clerk’s signature on ballots.
That turned a hotly contested Senate race on its head and handed a three-vote victory to Paula Copenhaver.
Deery was one of the Indiana Republicans who voted against President Donald Trump’s push to redraw congressional maps to favor the party nationally.
Trump launched primary campaigns against those Republicans who opposed him. That included large ad buys from dark money groups, nonprofits that don’t have to disclose donor identities.
One of those groups was Hoosier Leadership for America, with connections to U.S. Sen. Jim Banks. Deery’s campaign has estimated the group spent $1 million in ads supporting Copenhaver.
Deery is also raising questions about Paul Mullin, a member of the recount commission with ties to Sen. Banks. Deery’s team has released audio of an event where Paul Mullin talks about his close friendship with Banks, including their time in college together over two decades ago.
Mullin also served as a member of Banks’ finance committee from 2016-2024.
Deery said Banks’ connection to both Mullin and Copenhaver should raise questions.
“Mullin was sitting in judgment of a campaign financed by his longtime friends' organization, essentially, and so I think the public deserves to know as much as we can about that relationship,” he said.
Deery is calling for both Mullin and Secretary of State Diego Morales to release any correspondence between themselves and either Banks or Trump throughout the recount process.
The senator also called for clarity on who is helping fund Paula Copenhaver’s legal challenge. Copenhaver declined to answer that question when asked by reporters.
“There's enough questions about this process and the conflicts that we need to get as much transparency and answers as we possibly can,” Deery said.
Paul Mullin declined to comment for this story, directing comment to the Indiana Secretary of State’s office.
The offices of the Secretary of State and Sen. Banks did not immediately respond to WFYI’s request for comment.
Separately, Deery is expected to challenge the recount’s decision in court.
Contact Government Reporter Benjamin Thorp at bthorp@wfyi.org
