Charlie Kirk, a key far-right ally of President Donald Trump, concocted a plan in December to ensure Republican senators would fall in line behind the president's agenda, reported The New York Times in a lengthy profile piece — single out a red-state senator for a handful of cases in which they don't reflexively back Trump, and organize a well-funded primary challenge against them.
Kirk, the leader of Turning Point USA, has become a critical figure in Trump's orbit after years of organizing on his behalf. He was one of the major figures, aside from tech billionaire Elon Musk, handling Trump's voter outreach operation in swing states last year, and is sometimes described as Trump's "youth whisperer," personally taking credit for improving appeal to younger voters in the latest election.
Turning Point USA has frequently come under controversy for its members' close association with white nationalist figures.
According to the report, during a dinner in Palm Beach, Florida, Kirk said that his goal was “at least one successful primarying" of a senator in a Republican-dominated state. The Times identified potential targets including Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), Mike Rounds (R-SD), or Mike Crapo (R-ID).
These lawmakers, said Kirk, “Have taken advantage of Republican primary voters far too long. It’s an objective fact. They’re not in line with what those voters want. They’re sending money to Ukraine. They’re not strong on immigration. So this is not a veiled threat. I see no good reason not to go after Crapo or Rounds ... The behavioral and voting patterns of Senate Republicans would change with one successful primary.”
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In recent months, Kirk has appeared to try to spring this plan into action. On multiple occasions, he publicly announced on social media that any Republican senator who votes against any of Trump's cabinet nominees will face an "immediate" primary challenge.
A number of Republican lawmakers have fallen victim to such challenges in recent years, one of the most notable being former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), who was ousted in her primary after voting to impeach Trump for inciting the January 6 insurrection and worked on the committee investigating the plot to overturn the 2020 election.
In some cases though, these primary challenges have backfired. For instance, longtime moderate Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA) was ousted by voters over her lack of loyalty to Trump, only for their new nominee, Joe Kent, to be defeated by Democrats in two consecutive elections after his ties to neo-Nazis were exposed. Trump has now tapped Kent to head up the National Counterterrorism Center.
