Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point Action will support Utah GOP effort to repeal redistricting law

The Utah Republican Party’s bid to reverse the state’s redistricting law just got a big boost.

Turning Point Action, one of the most extensive get-out-the-vote operations in the West, will work with Utah GOP chair Rob Axson to overturn the law known as Proposition 4, the Deseret News has confirmed.

In a statement to the Deseret News, Turning Point Action COO Tyler Bowyer said that the organization, which has hundreds of full-time staff, is “all in on Utah” and “will do a bunch of support” to promote the GOP’s initiative.

“Turning Point Action will show up to support the president and it will likely result in us permanently sticking around Utah thanks to this,” Bowyer said.

This is the first time Turning Point Action has gotten involved in a Utah election outside of endorsements. The Utah Republican Party worked with the group during the 2024 presidential election to send volunteers to help knock doors in Nevada and Arizona.

Since drawing national attention last year for its “ballot-chasing” effort that increased turnout for President Donald Trump in swing states like Arizona, Turning Point has turned its focus to redistricting battles across the country.

On Friday, Turning Point Action activists filled the Indiana statehouse to encourage Republican state senators to pass a new congressional district map eliminating the state’s two Democrat-leaning seats — or else face a primary challenge.

Now the nonprofit group, founded by conservative activist Charlie Kirk who died on Sept. 10 in Utah, will bring its expertise in door-knocking and campaigning to the Beehive State to convince Utah voters to reverse their approval of the 2018 Better Boundaries initiative.

“Turning Point Action has been a force for good wherever they have engaged,” Axson told the Deseret News. “They have been a strong partner with me and the Utah Republican Party. We have many things in the works to keep Utah red and our youth inspired.”

What is Prop 4?

The Utah GOP announced in October it would seek to challenge the seven-year old law in the same way it was approved — by filing an initiative application with the Lieutenant Governor’s Office sponsored by Axson, Utah Sen. Mike Lee and Attorney General Derek Brown.

Utah voters passed Prop 4 in 2018 with 50.3% of the vote. The law established a commission to recommend new congressional maps to the Legislature, outlined redistricting requirements to prevent partisan gerrymandering and allowed individuals to sue over noncompliance.

The Utah Legislature passed a law in 2020 making the commission’s proposals advisory, and in 2021 adopted a map critics said did not follow Prop 4’s intent because it appeared to split up the Democratic vote in Salt Lake County, making congressional seats less competitive.

But GOP officials argue that 3rd District Court Judge Dianna Gibson’s interpretation of Prop 4, and the Utah Supreme Court’s 2024 decision preventing lawmakers from amending some ballot initiatives, upset the separation of powers in Utah by giving judges the final say over electoral boundaries.

On Nov. 10, Republicans’ worst fears were realized when Gibson rejected lawmakers’ attempt to comply with Prop 4 and picked an uncompetitive map drawn by the nonprofit plaintiffs that created a deeply Democratic seat in Salt Lake County without the Legislature’s approval.

Why an initiative?

While states like Texas and California engaged in mid-cycle redistricting to gerrymander congressional seats before the 2026 midterm elections, Axson said that Utah Republicans are attempting to preserve accountable governance in response to a court ruling.

“This is a cause that should be apolitical,” Axson said. “This is something that Republicans, Democrats, unaffiliated voters, should be up in arms about when you have our very system of government being upended by a process which is disrespecting the constitutional structure.”

There is legitimate debate over whether lawmakers need an independently appointed board to help oversee map-drawing, Axson said. A recent Sutherland Institute poll found that a majority of Utah voters want the Legislature to select maps with the help of an advisory committee or commission.

But over the past year, courts have created a new status quo, according to Axson, that could allow special interest groups to implement their own congressional districts through litigation as long as the judge determines that their map is a better fit for their interpretation of Prop 4.

How is the GOP gathering signatures?

To place the question of whether to repeal Prop 4 on the 2026 general election ballot, the Utah GOP must gather nearly 141,000 valid signatures, equivalent to 8% of the number of active registered voters in the state, by Feb. 14.

The party has already gathered “many tens of thousands of signatures,” according to Axson, with the help of nearly 1,000 volunteers and 200-250 hired gatherers. The signatures must be verified by county clerks before March 7.

This multimillion-dollar operation will be funneled through the GOP’s political interest committee, Utahns for Representative Government, which so far has received $4.35 million from one source: Securing American Greatness Inc.,

The Massachusetts-based 501(c)(4) nonprofit group donated over $50 million to the top PACs for President Donald Trump in 2024, and was previously managed by Trump campaign adviser Taylor Budowich.

Axson said the group, which is not required to reveal its donors as long as campaigns are not its primary activity, is “committed to fighting for appropriate governance and defending America’s future.”

Patriot Grassroots

To meet the February deadline, the Utah GOP has contracted with Patriot Grassroots to help gather signatures. The conservative group received over $27 million from Trump-aligned PACs in 2024 to increase GOP turnout in battleground states.

Axson has pushed back against the idea that the GOP is relying on out-of-state money and activists to influence the vote on repealing Prop 4 — something GOP officials criticized the group Better Boundaries of doing in 2018, when it benefitted from progressive nonprofit funding.

The Patriot Grassroots leadership team has extensive ties to Utah, said the group’s president Elijah Day, who graduated from Southern Utah University in 2019.

“A lot of people like to try to paint it like there’s outside groups coming into Utah,” Day told the Deseret News. “But the reality is, Patriot Grassroots, or at least the people in charge of running this thing, are not just some outside group. I’ve been involved in Utah my whole life.”

Patriot Grassroots employees are paid hourly to go door-to-door, or to approach Utahns at storefronts with a short pitch on why voters should ensure that redistricting authority remains with elected representatives.

If asked, they must provide the language of the initiative and a document with instructions on how to remove one’s signature after signing.