FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WOWO) — Indiana State Sen. Liz Brown has officially secured the Republican nomination for Senate District 15 after challenger Darren Vogt moved to end the recount he requested, concluding a lengthy post-election dispute and restoring the original certified results from the May primary.

According to Brown’s campaign, Vogt informed the Indiana Recount Commission that he no longer had a viable path to overturning the election outcome and asked that the recount proceedings be dismissed before a scheduled hearing. The move followed the departure of Vogt’s recount attorney in late June, after which Vogt filed his own motion seeking to end the process. A copy of that filing was also provided to Brown’s legal counsel.

Because the recount was voluntarily withdrawn, the election results revert to the original vote totals certified following the May Republican primary, making Brown the official Republican nominee for the November general election.

The recount process included two days of ballot reviews in Allen County on June 30 and July 1. Under Indiana law, Brown’s campaign said Vogt is responsible for costs incurred by the recount proceedings that had already taken place.

Brown called the recount an unnecessary use of time and resources while expressing gratitude to Republican voters for returning her to the ballot in November.

“I humbly thank my Republican neighbors for putting their trust in me to continue fighting for Indiana’s conservative future and I’m grateful we can finally put Primary season behind us by ending this costly, time-consuming and unnecessary recount,” Brown said. “Historically, Indiana has such safe and secure elections, recounts don’t flip the results.”

Brown also said she believes attention should now shift toward party unity and restoring confidence in the local election process following allegations raised during the recount effort.

“There is vital work to do to reunify the party and rebuild trust in the Allen County Election Board after they were accused of mistakes and malfunctions by my opponent. I look forward to fielding a phone call from Darren which will be a critical first step in this process.”

Looking ahead to the November election, Brown pledged to continue campaigning across the district and said conversations with thousands of voters during the primary reinforced the issues they wanted addressed at the Statehouse.

“I pledge I will work tirelessly to win reelection in November, so that I can again be an effective champion of conservative policies at the Statehouse.”

Brown also reflected on the unusually long primary contest, saying voters were presented with distinct choices during the campaign and thanking her family, campaign staff, volunteers and supporters for remaining engaged through both the election and recount process.

“This was a long primary season,” Brown said. “I thank God for the good gift of my children, grandchildren and my husband, Steve, with me every step of this extra-long Primary cycle. I had an incredible campaign team and committed supporters and friends who also tirelessly stood with me, including a dozen grassroots volunteers who helped with the physical recount.”

With the recount now concluded, Brown advances as the Republican nominee for Indiana Senate District 15 and will face the Democratic nominee in the November general election. The withdrawal of the recount ends nearly two months of post-primary litigation and election review stemming from one of Allen County’s closest legislative races.