{"id":2503840,"date":"2025-10-28T12:00:02","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T16:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/turning-point-tests-post-kirk-influence-with-arizona-recall-effort\/"},"modified":"2025-10-28T12:02:59","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T16:02:59","slug":"turning-point-tests-post-kirk-influence-with-arizona-recall-effort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/turning-point-tests-post-kirk-influence-with-arizona-recall-effort\/","title":{"rendered":"Turning Point tests post-Kirk influence with Arizona recall effort"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fturning-point-tests-post-kirk-influence-with-arizona-recall-effort%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2503840&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Turning point USA (TPUSA) is spearheading a recall effort against Mesa City Councilwoman Julie Spilsbury in Arizona, aiming to test its political influence in the state following the assassination of Charlie Kirk, TPUSA&#8217;s founder. The recall campaign has successfully gathered enough signatures to place Spilsbury on the ballot and supports her opponent, Dorean Taylor, with active promotions including yard signs and email outreach.<\/p>\n<p>Spilsbury, a Republican who endorsed Kamala Harris over Donald Trump last year, <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >faces opposition primarily due<\/a> to her moderate stance and policies, which diverge from Trump&#8217;s conservative base.mesa, a largely conservative city where District 2 voters favored Trump by about 14 points, has seen heightened tension around this recall.<\/p>\n<p>Critics highlight Spilsbury&#8217;s role in passing a 2021 nondiscrimination ordinance protecting LGBTQ rights, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watch-ron-desantis-smacks-down-media-democrat-nazi-smear-effort\/\" title=\"WATCH: Ron DeSantis Smacks Down Media, Democrat Nazi &#039;Smear&#039; Effort\">opponents falsely claim<\/a> allows biological men to use women&#8217;s restrooms. TPUSA and its members have been vocal on social media against Spilsbury&#8217;s policies and supporters, accusing them of radicalism and criticizing her endorsement decisions.<\/p>\n<p>Spilsbury defends her record, emphasizing the ordinance&#8217;s moderate nature, limited to employment, housing, and public spaces-not extending to schools or churches. The recall effort intensifies TPUSA&#8217;s attempt to consolidate its influence in Arizona&#8217;s political scene in the aftermath of Kirk&#8217;s death.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Turning Point tests post-Kirk influence with Arizona recall effort<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2385916\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/turning-point-usa\/\">Turning Point USA<\/a> is leading the recall effort of a Republican city councilmember in a local <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/arizona\/\">Arizona<\/a> election, preparing to test its influence in the state following <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/charlie-kirk\/\">Charlie Kirk<\/a>&lsquo;s assassination.<\/p>\n<p>Mesa City Councilwoman Julie Spilsbury is facing a recall vote driven by the conservative organization, which <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RXgop\/status\/1927419566814122010?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1927419566814122010%7Ctwgr%5E75936f8156f0fc9d56e76f04f712fa0934c8b57c%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fazfreenews.com%2F2025%2F05%2Fpetitioners-turn-in-enough-signatures-to-recall-mesa-councilwoman%2F\">collected signatures<\/a> to place her on the recall ballot. The group is <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Wadsack4Arizona\/status\/1982967358248620102\">supporting her opponent<\/a>, Dorean Taylor, with yard signs and email blasts, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2025\/10\/28\/turning-point-charlie-kirk-arizona-elections-00621850\">according to<\/a> <em>Politico<\/em>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/3865806\/mamdani-inaccuracy-9-11-story-aunt-hijab\/\">Mamdani admits inaccuracy in post-9\/11 story about aunt scared to wear hijab<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/3865554\/nj-elec-ciattarelli-sherrill-defamation-lawsuit\/\">NJ ELEC votes to allow Ciattarelli to sue Sherrill for defamation during campaign<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/3865608\/earle-sears-virginia-redistricting-amendment-illegal\/\">Earle-Sears decries Virginia redistricting amendment push as illegal<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Spilsbury is facing TPUSA opposition in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-cbp-head-biden-administration-is-facilitating-illegal-immigration-into-america\/\" title=\"Former CBP Head: Biden Administration \u2018Is Facilitating Illegal Immigration\u2019 Into America\">large part due<\/a> to her support of former Vice President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/kamala-harris\/\">Kamala Harris<\/a> over President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump<\/a> last year.<\/p>\n<p>While identifying as a Republican, Spilsbury doesn&rsquo;t identify with Trump&rsquo;s right-wing base. First elected in 2020, the incumbent won reelection last fall despite her endorsement of Harris.<\/p>\n<p>Mesa leans more conservative. In District 2, represented by Spilsbury, voters backed Trump by roughly 14 points. The city, located some 20 miles east of Phoenix, contains more than 500,000 residents.<\/p>\n<p>During a Mesa City Council meeting in July, Spilsbury <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Jfo6h9-IENM\">criticized the recall effort<\/a> without naming TPUSA. She described the organization as a &ldquo;special interest group&rdquo; funded by &ldquo;out-of-state dark money&rdquo; that relied on &ldquo;paid petition gatherers&rdquo; for collecting the recall signatures.<\/p>\n<p>TPUSA&rsquo;s involvement in the recall effort began earlier this year, before Kirk&rsquo;s death last month. Since the fatal shooting, the group&rsquo;s campaign against Spilsbury has only intensified.<\/p>\n<p>Tyler Bowyer, a leading member of TPUSA and its political arm, has been relentless in his social media posts against Spilsbury. He has <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/tylerbowyer\/status\/1976866623920521654\">frequently criticized<\/a> her past support for Harris and likewise targeted her supporters.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;A Julie Spilsbury supporter was one of many who have been vandalizing and stealing signs supporting her opponent,&rdquo; Bowyer <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/tylerbowyer\/status\/1981923244287631445\">posted on X<\/a> recently. &ldquo;He was cited on his birthday for the theft. This is who supports Julie.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Spilsbury&rsquo;s role in approving <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.azcentral.com\/story\/news\/local\/mesa\/2021\/03\/02\/mesa-oks-lgbtq-protections-nondiscrimination-ordinance\/6870611002\/\">Mesa&rsquo;s 2021 nondiscrimination ordinance<\/a> has been used as political ammo by her critics and opponents, who argue it paved the way for biological men to use female restrooms and locker rooms.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3848143\/trump-charlie-kirk-birthday-gift-medal-freedom-award-erika\/\">TRUMP GIVES CHARLIE KIRK &lsquo;BEST BIRTHDAY GIFT&rsquo; WITH MEDAL OF FREEDOM AWARD, ERIKA KIRK SAYS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In the first month that Spilsbury got elected, she &amp; the former Mayor joined with radical lobbyists to ram a Men in Womens bathroom bill in Mesa,&rdquo; Bowyer <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/tylerbowyer\/status\/1980290241497039188\">wrote on X<\/a>. &ldquo;Years of this emboldened the radicals in Indivisible to now go after the police. Their goal is united. This is who supports Julie!&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Spilsbury has maintained that the &ldquo;very moderate&rdquo; measure only applies to employment, housing, and public spaces rather than schools, churches, or sports, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/local\/phoenix\/2025\/10\/23\/mesa-city-council-recall-election-julie-spilsbury-dorean-taylor\">according to<\/a> <em>Axios<\/em>. In a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/blackbird-parrotfish-6zla.squarespace.com\/stories\/julie-spilsbury\">blog post<\/a> defending Spilsbury last December, a pro-LGBT organization in the Latter-day Saints community said the policy meant that transgender individuals &ldquo;could use the bathroom of their choice.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>TPUSA leads Arizona recall to test influence after Kirk&#8217;s death<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2159,"featured_media":2503841,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AP25264093174967.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[66018,66020,5894,66019,36420],"class_list":["post-2503840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-arizona-recall","tag-political-testing","tag-politics","tag-post-kirk-influence","tag-turning-point-usa"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AP25264093174967.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2503840","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2159"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2503840"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2503840\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2503844,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2503840\/revisions\/2503844"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2503841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2503840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2503840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2503840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}