Turning Point USA mobilizes voters in SRP board election

Turning Point USA, a conservative political group, is ramping up efforts in a typically low-profile Salt River Project board election, deploying hundreds of workers to register voters and knock on doors ahead of the April 7 vote.

Jeremy Duda a journalist for Axios Phoenix joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss what several high profile groups are interested in SRP’s election.

“It’s usually… a quiet low-key affair, very under the radar, very small number of votes that get cast for this every two years,” Duda said. “There are a couple of outside groups that are heavily involved in race right now pushing for this slate. Turning Point by far, the more well-known one.”

This year’s candidates have these various groups throwing their weight around. On one side of the race for board president is Sandra Kennedy the leader of The Clean Energy Slate Initiative. The initiative’s messaging is “clean, affordable, reliable electricity and water for Arizona families,” according to the SRP Clean Energy Team.

On the other side of the aisle is the Turning Point Action backed Chris Dobson and Barry Paceley, who are running to maintain their positions as SRP board president and vice president.

“The main thing is, [Turning Point] wants to stop ‘Green New Deal’ type policies, overaggressive push that’ll make renewables more expensive,” Duda said, about why the group co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk has involved itself in this election. “There is, also, a political calculus as well.”

Duda went on to further explain that Tyler Bowyer, the COO of Turning Point Action, told him that there was a political organization and voter outreach opportunities of getting involved with SRP’s election.

“If you talk to [Turning Point Action] they’ll say the other main thing is they don’t want to give up the SRP board to people they call ‘radical leftist’ or Green New Deal policies,” Duda said.