Ground Game: Some Republican skeptical of Turning Point and politics takes a backseat to Hurricane Helene

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Plus, post-Election Day could be critical for US adversaries, and politics takes a backseat for residents digging out from Helene{beacon}

By Meg Kinnard

October 07, 2024 07:45:27 AM

By Meg Kinnard

October 07, 2024 07:45:27 AM

  

Turning Point’s representatives have made two things clear in meetings with state and local Republican leaders — Donald Trump has blessed their conservative organization to help lead his get-out-the-vote effort, and local party officials ought to use the group's new voter mobilization app. Both prospects terrify some fellow Republicans.

Welcome to this week’s edition of AP Ground Game.

 

THE HEADLINES

Elon Musk jumps on the stage as Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Some Republicans skeptical of Turning Point's ability to get out the vote

Soaring to prominence after Trump’s unexpected 2016 win, Turning Point earned a reputation for hosting glitzy events, cultivating hard-right influencers and raising prodigious sums while enriching the group’s leaders. They’ve had far less success helping Republicans win, especially in their adopted home state of Arizona.

Now the organization has leveraged its Trump ties to expand its influence in a way that could be potentially lucrative. Turning Point has sought to lead an effort to remake the GOP’s get-out-the-vote effort based on the theory that there are thousands of Trump supporters who rarely vote but could be persuaded to this year. And they are pitching their new mobile app as