Turning Point Action is escalating pressure on Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), warning it will back a primary challenger against him if the Senate fails to pass the SAVE America Act.
Tyler Bowyer, the chief operating officer of Turning Point Action, the 501(c)(4) political arm of Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA, said the group is prepared to seek out a primary challenger to Thune if the voter ID legislation fails to pass the Senate. The news was reported by the Daily Caller.
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“America needs the Save America Act passed,” Bowyer told the Washington Examiner in a text message.
The warning comes after several Republican Indiana state senators voted against President Donald Trump’s push to redraw the state’s congressional map. In response, Turning Point Action and Club for Growth pledged to back primary challengers against the lawmakers. On Tuesday, at least five of the seven targeted Republican incumbents lost their races.
Turning Point Action poured significant resources into Indiana’s primary, sending a large field operation into the state and partnering with conservative activist Scott Presler to boost Republican turnout through rallies and grassroots organizing. According to Politico, the White House and allied groups invested nearly $10 million into the effort.
Now, Turning Point Action is signaling the effort could expand beyond Indiana, with Bowyer arguing Republicans may need new leadership in the Senate if lawmakers fail to advance the party’s priorities.
“Rick Scott should be in charge,” Bowyer said, invoking one of Thune’s rivals for majority leader in 2024.
President Donald Trump expressed frustration with Thune on Tuesday over the Senate’s failure to advance the SAVE America Act and abolish the 60-vote filibuster threshold needed to move the legislation forward. Thune is up for reelection in 2028.
“I’m disappointed. I like John a lot, but there’s a couple of Republicans that are foolish people,” Trump told reporters when asked about Senate leadership. “A couple of them I like, a couple of them I can’t stand.”
Trump has intensified his calls in recent days for Senate Republicans to eliminate the filibuster and pass the SAVE America Act, which would require voter ID to cast a ballot and proof of citizenship to register to vote.
“We should have the SAVE America Act,” Trump said. “We should have voter identification, voter ID. We should have proof of citizenship. We should have mail-in voting for the military and people that need it, but not for everybody, because anytime you have mail-in voting, they’re going to cheat. And they cheat like dogs, and they have to cheat.”
A source familiar with Thune’s thinking pushed back on the criticism, noting the majority leader is already a co-sponsor of the SAVE America Act and has long supported voter ID measures. The source argued the legislation simply does not have the votes to pass the Senate, pointing to a recent amendment vote tied to reconciliation that failed to secure even a simple majority.
TRUMP ‘DISAPPOINTED’ WITH THUNE FOR INACTION ON FILIBUSTER AND SAVE AMERICA ACT
The person also defended Thune’s leadership record, citing the rapid confirmation of Trump’s Cabinet nominees, changes to Senate rules to speed up confirmations, and passage of the GOP’s domestic policy agenda and tax legislation earlier this year. The aide suggested conservative frustration over the SAVE America Act was misplaced and noted that even some of the bill’s strongest supporters, including Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), have publicly praised Thune’s leadership.
The aide also pointed to a recent post from Lee dismissing speculation about a midterm effort to remove Thune. Lee argued Senate Republicans lack a formal procedure to replace their leader during a term and said the chances of the conference turning against Thune were “literally 0 in 100,000,” underscoring the South Dakota Republican’s standing within the caucus.
