Turning Point has ‘become a destructive force in Republican politics’
Turning Point USA bet big on Arizona.
Leaders of the right-wing activist organization founded by Charlie Kirk said the state’s contest for governor was “the most important race in America.”
The group’s handpicked candidate, Representative Andy Biggs, a MAGA-aligned Republican, was one of the last politicians Mr. Kirk personally endorsed before his assassination last year. Its political arm spent nearly $20 million to support Mr. Biggs’s campaign.
But on Tuesday, Turning Point’s bet went bust.
In the group’s home state, where registered Republicans outnumber Democrats, Mr. Biggs lost to Gov. Katie Hobbs by more than 10 percentage points, and Democrats thumped Turning Point’s chosen candidates for statewide and congressional races. The same happened in Nevada and New Hampshire, states where the group hoped to build conservative power and lay a foundation for the 2028 presidential contest.
Instead of vindicating a polarizing organization that has pitched itself as the future of the G.O.P., Tuesday’s results set off recriminations from establishment Republicans who have been exiled by Turning Point’s political machine.
“Turning Point is driving us to extinction,” said Gina Swoboda, the former Arizona Republican Party chairwoman who has feuded with the group. “They have become a destructive force in Republican politics.” [Continue reading…]