by Tom Davies, Indiana Capital Chronicle
July 20, 2026

The Republican primary challenger to state Sen. Liz Brown has dropped his push for a recount of their 14-vote margin race.

Darren Vogt submitted a petition Monday to the state Recount Commission to dismiss the recount request he filed May 19, two weeks after primary voting ended in what was a bitter campaign.

Certified vote tallies for Senate District 15, which is entirely in Fort Wayne’s Allen County, gave Brown a lead of 5,241 to 5,227 over Vogt.

The Recount Commission was scheduled to take up the State Board of Accounts review of voting materials in race during a Tuesday meeting.

Vogt’s filing asks to dismiss his recount petition “in its entirety” but did not explain his decision.

Vogt, a staffer to U.S. Sen. Jim Banks and a member of the Northwest Allen County Schools board, did not immediately return a phone message from the Indiana Capital Chronicle seeking comment.

Brown is seeking her fourth state Senate term while Vogt had support from Banks and state Attorney General Todd Rokita, both of whom clashed with Brown over her handling of immigration crackdown legislation.

Brown said she was glad to see the end of what she called a “costly, time-consuming and unnecessary recount.”

“This was a long primary season, with a Senate District 15 primary fight that never needed to happen,” Brown said in a statement. “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, rather than the candidate fielded last summer by an attorney general and U.S. senator hungry to hold influence.”

Rokita gave $90,000 from his campaign fund to Vogt’s campaign, with Banks giving $35,000 from his campaign account, according to state Election Division filings.

Brown is set to face Democrat Julie McGill in the November election in what has typically been a strongly Republican area.

Vogt’s decision to drop the recount follows the June 25 withdrawal of his attorney just days before auditors conducted their ballot review on June 30 and July 1 in Fort Wayne. Vogt didn’t hire another attorney and filed Monday’s petition on his own behalf.

The Recount Commission has a July 28 hearing scheduled in another state Senate race, where Sen. Spencer Deery of West Lafayette leads his President Donald Trump-endorsed opponent, Paula Copenhaver, by a three-vote margin.