Turning Point Action President Charlie Kirk proclaimed “We did a lot in Wisconsin” during the state’s Supreme Court race.
You wouldn’t know it from the group’s independent expenditure report.
Wisconsin law requires groups such as Turning Point that expressly advocate for a candidate to detail those efforts in filings with the state that include information such as who was paid.
>> WisPolitics is now on the State Affairs network. Get custom keyword notifications, bill tracking and all WisPolitics content. Get the app.
But Turning Point, which posted a stream of pictures on social media showing out-of-state employees chasing ballots in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race, reported spending just $44,780 helping conservative Brad Schimel. None of it was for staff expenses.
And it certainly didn’t include expenses for a “war room” that one Turning Point staffer tweeted about on April 1 before the vote showed liberal Susan Crawford had bested conservative Brad Schimel by 10 points.
Campaign finance experts and operatives told WisPolitics the group’s filing raised questions over whether it had failed to adequately report its efforts, inflated what it did during the campaign or had found some loophole to shield from public view what it did.
Numerous efforts to reach the group seeking more details on its efforts in Wisconsin were unsuccessful.
Asked about the Turning Point disclosure, a state Dem spokesperson said the party has “always had the stronger ground game, and we proved it once again this cycle.”
Turning Point has been on the ground in Wisconsin since at least last year, launching GOTV efforts to support Donald Trump here and in other states. But as the race turned to the fall, it joined forces with Elon Musk’s America PAC. The billionaire’s group took over leadership of the effort, as well as many of Turning Point’s expenses in Wisconsin.
America PAC was again active in Wisconsin this spring, dropping $12.7 million to boost Schimel. That includes detailing $6 million in expenses for “canvassing/field operations.” Those payments all went to The Synapse Group, which is based in Sheridan, Wyoming.
Meanwhile, Americans for Prosperity reported $884,641 in canvassing expenses as it put more than $3.3 million into its effort backing Schimel. Those expenses were typically reported as payments to Americans for Prosperity.
Turning Point’s filings were a fraction of that.
Kirk founded Turning Point Action in 2019 as a social advocacy group. In Wisconsin, two affiliates have filed reports over the past year.
Turning Point PAC Wisconsin in 2024 registered with the state and spent $148,035 in 2024, according to its filings. Almost all the group’s expenditures were donations to county parties around the state.
Turning Point PAC Inc.’s first filing in the Supreme Court race from mid-March listed only an $896 expense for printing brochures. The second filing, which listed expenses for March 25-April 1, detailed $43,884 for text services and printing brochures.
At least on social media, Turning Point painted its effort as significantly more robust than that.
On election day alone, Turning Point Action Ohio field rep PJ Reilly posted on X that he was “crisscrossing Wisconsin to CURE EVERY BALLOT and secure victory for Brad Schimel!” Amy Wood, Turning Point’s western regional field manager whose LinkedIn page says she’s based in Las Vegas, posted on X about making voter contacts in Wisconsin. Noah Formica, a senior field representative for Turning Point Action based in Pennsylvania, posted pictures on X of him doing doors in Wisconsin on election day with conservative activist Scott Presler.
And Brett Galaszewski, Turning Point Action’s national enterprise director, posted a picture of a roomful of people on phones proclaiming Turning Point’s “WAR ROOM IS JUMPING.”
Turning Point PAC Inc. didn’t list an email address on its filings with the state Ethics Commission. Turning Point PAC Wisconsin didn’t respond to emails or calls to the contact information listed on its filings. And Turning Point USA didn’t respond to two inquiries WisPolitics sent through its website.
Galaszewski, who also serves as vice-chair of the Milwaukee County GOP, didn’t respond to a direct message over X. Brandon Maly, Turning Point’s Midwest field manager and the Dane County GOP chair, didn’t respond to multiple calls. And Dixon Wolfe, a senior field rep for the group and a Brown County supervisor, told a WisPolitics reporter to reach out to headquarters. When asked for a contact there, Dixon said, “Have a nice day,” and hung up.
