Over a decade since the founding of Turning Point, Democrats are still struggling to find a counter to the right-wing political machine, and it does not seem like they agree on how to go about it.
Many have attributed responsibility for the youth swing away from Democrats to Turning Point USA (TPUSA), the conservative group founded by Charlie Kirk, and the organisation’s political arm, Turning Point Action. The group’s vote-chasing initiatives are widely credited with helping Donald Trump narrow the youth gap in swing states like Arizona and Wisconsin.
“Charlie Kirk, through his debates, mobilized an entire young generation of male voters, particularly, and a growing number of female voters, to swing them just enough to the right to give President Trump a chance,” said conservative commentator Austin Broughton.
Data from the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tufts University shows young voters favored Kamala Harris by 4 points, a sharp shift from the 25-point margin Joe Biden imposed on Trump in 2020.
The power amassed by TPUSA has left Democrats afraid that if they do not counteract this shift, they risk losing a generation of voters.
What is a Turning Point?
Turning Point USA was founded by Charlie Kirk in 2013. According to its website, TPUSA has more than 800 college chapters and over 1,200 high school chapters.
The group claims to be “reshaping the culture on college campuses.” Chapters often come together to discuss topics such as race, economics, and religion, aiming to expose students to conservative ideals.
TPUSA hosts a number of national summits and regional conferences every year, often drawing famous faces on the right. Previous speakers have included President Donald Trump, Tucker Carlson, and Megyn Kelly.
Kirk also appeared at events on college campuses, often sitting beneath a tent labeled “Prove Me Wrong” and inviting students to do just that. Clips of his debates went viral on social media. It was at one of these events that Kirk was assassinated in September 2025.
What effect did it have on the election?
Kirk spoke openly about the work of Turning Point Action during the 2024 election. The group compared voter data with the Trump campaign, using it to target low-propensity voters.
“We hired well over 1,000 full-time people,” said Kirk on The Glenn Beck Program just a few days after the election.
It did not stop with paid staff. Kirk mentioned another initiative in Arizona called Commit 100. Volunteers paid for flights, but Turning Point Action trained them and covered their hotel stays for one or two weeks.
Zee Cohen-Sanchez is the executive director of the political action committee National Ground Game. She recalled seeing Turning Point canvassing during the Florida special elections in March 2025. Cohen-Sanchez could not believe that Turning Point had so many people canvassing in two districts—vacated by Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz—that Republicans had carried by over 30 points in 2024.
This was the point when Cohen-Sanchez realised the scale of Turning Point’s resources. Turning Point could cover even the safest red districts. Meanwhile, Democrats were nowhere to be seen.
The left Turning Point
Cohen-Sanchez took her observations and built National Ground Game, which launched The Unfuck America Tour—described on its website as “The Official Tour Countering Turning Point USA.”
Tour stops range from bars to college campuses. Popular political streamers and influencers like Destiny often take a center position, challenging students and bystanders to debate.
The tour aims to combat misinformation and take up space in the attention economy that Kirk dominated. Its Instagram page has amassed more than 193,000 followers on Instagram, while participating Influencers have a shared total of more than 2.2 million.
National Ground Game hopes to build chapters that will drive turnout. The tour aims to build influence and donations to fund better voter canvassing.
Cohen-Sanchez expressed disappointment in the Democratic Party. She recalled the Harris campaign’s weaknesses, citing disorganization. She volunteered for the campaign in her swing state, but said there was little training and guidance to efficiently chase voters.
The party’s infighting and purity politics also frustrate Cohen-Sanchez. In some ways, she wishes Democrats were more like Republicans.
Cohen-Sanchez praised Republicans’ ability to remain in line with the Trump administration’s messaging, arguing Democrats needed to do the same. When asked whether that unity required repeating misleading claims, as she said Republicans had done, Cohen-Sanchez was unfazed.
“If they do, then I don’t think it’s to the extent in which a Republican or Donald Trump’s doing it, because like ultimately we are fighting for truth and justice, and they’re not.”
Republicans have levelled similar accusations at Democrats.
The counter-cultural movement
Not everyone believes that Turning Point was all about winning elections.
“Fundamentally, [Turning Point is] not an electoral project. They are a cultural movement project,” said William He, the founder of Dream For America, a group that also claims to be “building Turning Point USA for the left.”
He began Dream For America in 2023 after seeing how effectively the right was organising young people.
Dream For America has over 500,000 followers on Instagram. Though He founded the organisation in 2023, it is still building programming.
The group has 10 recognized chapters at universities across the United States, according to He. He explained the organization prioritizes building community over “checking a bureaucratic box,” saying Dream For America began a big push for getting chapters recognized at the beginning of 2026.
He warns against underestimating the group’s volunteers and their age, saying that they understand the generation.
“You can’t shortcut the 10-year infrastructure that Turning Point has built,” said He.
Chapters host social events and register voters. In 2025, the group held its first virtual festival called DemocracyFest, which featured prominent Democrats including Vice President Kamala Harris, Sen. Mark Kelly, and state Rep. James Talarico.
A different Turning Point altogether?
Carlos Calzadilla-Palacio started Disrupt in 2025 as a counter to what he perceived as growing authoritarianism from the Trump administration. The 28-year-old quit his job in October to pursue the group full-time. He refers to his movement as “post-partisan,” hoping to counter Turning Point’s divisive nature, but still build a community.
“We need a united generation. I think people want to stop hating each other,” said Calzadilla-Palacio.
Disrupt has three central pillars: freedom, economic affordability, and ending corporate influence. Calzadilla-Palacio believes these pillars apply widely, saying that he met two people in Turning Point Chapters who wanted to start Disrupt chapters. Though there have been multiple signups, Disrupt has no registered chapters.
According to its website, chapters will be based in towns, cities, high schools, and colleges. The goal is to support candidates, register voters, use social media for action in local areas, and administer legislative pressure through issue-based campaigns.
“Any of these people, these elites that profit off the abuse of working people, they’re not going to be able to hide,” said Calzadilla-Palacio.
Calzadilla-Palacio believes in welcoming people to the movement who agree with the fundamentals, even if they do not align on certain issues. Despite people advising him to recreate Kirk’s debates, he refuses.
“We’re trying to do something different. I don’t care if we don’t go viral all the time right now.”
The disagreements
Not all Democrats think replicating Turning Point is necessary. Democratic strategist Grayson Barnette emphasised the need to invest in existing infrastructure like the Young Democrats.
Matthew Boedy, a professor of English at the University of North Georgia, said Kirk’s brand would be hard to replicate. He highlighted that Kirk often went into environments with a liberal-leaning.
“You don’t have those institutions on the right that someone, a teenager on the left, could go into and put up a table and a chair,“ said Boedy.
The Agreements
The three groups agreed Democrats need to avoid condescension when engaging voters. Democratic Strategist Pat Dennis made the same observation.
“I think one of our mistakes is that there was a period of a few years where debating was not encouraged within the party,” Dennis said.
All want to focus conversations on the economy, an issue they believe wins votes. While Calzadilla-Palacio and He argued that Democrats should not shy away from cultural issues, Cohen-Sanchez wants to avoid anything that is not a vote-winner.
“I don’t want to hear the word trans. I don’t want to hear the word abortion. I don’t want to hear any of these things coming up again for the midterm elections. I think we can fight for these things, and we can believe in these things. And we can also, at the same time, acknowledge that this is not helping us push our cause forward,” Sanchez said.
CIRCLE data shows most young voters cited the economy and jobs as their top issue going into 2024. Abortion was a priority for only 13% of 18-29-year-old voters.
Where do they stand?
Dennis explained that Kirk’s debates often reinforced his worldview. He explained Democrats’ habit of getting into policy specifics, such as marginal tax rates and health care mechanisms.
“What those things don’t add up to is actually a worldview,” he said.
Both he and Calzadilla-Palacio have laid out their values, something they think is important to building a movement. Alternatively, Cohen-Sanchez said laying out values would not win votes—chasing ballots would. Staying focused on issues that voters care about, like the economy and inflation, is what Cohen-Sanchez thinks resonates.
For now, Democrats’ plans to win back young people are underway; their impacts remain to be seen.
