(The Texas Tribune) — Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said Friday he is committing $1 million from his campaign coffers to put chapters of Turning Point USA, the group founded by the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, on every Texas college and high school campus.
In a social media post, Patrick said that he spoke with Turning Point executives on Thursday about the idea. The state has more than 1,200 school systems that educate roughly 5.5 million schoolchildren and more than 200 colleges.
“I had not planned to make a donation before the call, but the Lord put it on my heart to make a meaningful contribution to kick start the Texas project,” Patrick said. “Texas has the size and the heart to open more chapters than any other state and more than most countries. Let’s get it done for Charlie, and for Texas.”
Kirk, 31, was assassinated in September while he spoke at a Utah college campus. He started Turning Point as an 18-year-old with a vision of corralling young conservatives at colleges across the nation to get involved in politics and champion their views unapologetically, traveling to campuses where he debated students during the Obama administration. He eventually oversaw the organization’s rise as a behemoth of conservative activism.
As Kirk’s voice grew louder, his comments drew backlash and criticism from people who felt he dehumanized already marginalized people, pointing to Kirk’s own words on race, women and LGBTQ+ people.
Since Kirk’s death, momentum has surged through young Republicans across the state and nation. Patrick announced that he will also speak at a Turning Point event Tuesday night at the University of Houston alongside Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Paxton, currently vying to win the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, has become a frequent guest at Turning Point events in recent weeks. This week he was the main speaker at one such event at the University of Texas at Austin.
“Texas college campuses should be places of open debate, not indoctrination,” Paxton said in a statement Friday. “I applaud these young conservatives at the University of Houston who have the courage to speak truth boldly, defend freedom, and challenge the leftist echo chambers that try to silence them.”
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This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at www.texastribune.org. The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans – and engages with them – about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
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