Turning Point USA leader Charlie Kirk is pitching donors on raising a whopping $108 million for a get-out-the-vote effort in key swing states of Arizona, Wisconsin, and Georgia next year.
But veteran conservative activist Erick Erickson tells the Associated Press that he's skeptical all of that money will really go toward getting conservatives out to the polls next year.
“Any donor who thinks an organization needs $108 million for a three-state grassroots get-out-the-vote campaign is being taken advantage of,” he said. “It sounds like a grift.”
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Records reviewed by the AP provide some evidence to justify Erickson's suspicion, as it found "top Turning Point officials collected pricey salaries, enjoyed lavish perks and steered at least $15.2 million to companies that they, their friends and associates are affiliated with."
Kirk himself has personally benefited from his leadership of Turning Point, as he owns a "$4.75 million Spanish-style estate" that is "tucked away in a gated Arizona country club that charges nearly a half-million dollars for a golf membership."
Added to this, notes the AP, Turning Point has largely failed in its mission to elect conservatives in its home state of Arizona, where Democrats swept major elections in 2022 and where former President Donald Trump went down in defeat to President Joe Biden in 2020.
Turning Point spokesman Andrew Kolvet defended his groups efforts in a defiant statement to the AP.
"“If the so-called ‘experts’ know what it takes to build successful ballot chasing teams, why are conservatives apparently so bad at it?” he said. “Why are we getting lapped by progressives in spending and in (get-out-the-vote) operations in key states and counties?”
