Key Points:

• Julie Spilsbury, a councilwoman in Mesa, was recalled on Nov. 4

• Her recall is in large part due to her support of Kamala Harris, despite Spilsbury being Republican

• Turning Point Action funded the recall campaign promoting their own candidate, Dorean Taylor 

A Mesa City Council election may have set a precedent for the future of nonpartisan politics, as a Republican councilwoman was recalled for endorsing Democrat Kamala Harris for president in the 2024 election. 

Julie Spilsbury, a Mormon mother of six, was removed from her District 2 seat on Nov. 4. She was replaced by Republican candidate Dorean Taylor, whose campaign was partially funded and heavily promoted by Turning Point Action. 

Chuck Coughlin, president of HighGround Inc., said, “(Turning Point) singled (Spilsbury) out and drove a narrative on a recall campaign, which can be done if you nationalize local politics, and that’s exactly what they did here. It’s a lesson for anybody who’s thinking about jumping outside of their party … to not do that.”

Turning Point Action is a conservative activist organization founded by Charlie Kirk. According to The New York Times, the recall was originally spearheaded by Kirk. Now, after Kirk’s assassination in September, Turning Point has found renewed motivation to continue in his honor.

According to Spilsbury, the organization was clearly involved in the city council election, specifically because of her support for Harris. She said just from driving around District 2, the Turning Point’s presence was overwhelming. 

“The text messages are all from Turning Point, the emails from Turning Point. The signs have Turning Point logos on them,” Spilsbury said. “They’re very much involved in this and trying to support my opponent.”

A total of 3,858 people signed a petition to recall Spilsbury, exceeding the required number by about 800 signatures.

In the recall, Taylor won by about five points and about 900 votes. 

Spilsbury was initially elected to represent District 2 in Mesa in 2020 and reelected in 2024, winning about 65% of the vote. If she had won the recall election — which cost the city over $100,000 — she would have continued to serve until her term ended in 2029. 

Spilsbury said that Mesa will be worse off as a result of this election, since voters had already decided what they wanted a year earlier. 

“It’s extremely worrisome that we’ve let a far right political ideology take over a nonpartisan city council election,” Spilsbury wrote in a statement to the Arizona Capitol Times. “Especially one that doesn’t let people have different views or opinions.”

Tyler Bowyer, Chief Operating Officer of Turning Point Action, made multiple public statements against Spilsbury and in favor of her recall. 

“One of the biggest wins in America tonight, RECALLING the leader of ‘Republicans for Harris’ Julie Spilsbury,” Bowyer posted on X following the election results. 

Coughlin said the result will affect nonpartisan politics, as people may now be fearful of stepping outside their party lines. He said that this was part of Turning Point’s larger agenda, to eliminate nonpartisan politics and promote only far-right principles. 

“It’s a continuation of their agenda to activate constituencies, young people, younger voters, unaffiliated people who are disenchanted Republican voters to listen and pay attention to the drift in the Democratic Party,” Coughlin said. “And to try and anchor them in more what they would call traditional Republican values.”

Spilsbury said she believes the campaign was a litmus test for Turning Point’s ability to impact local politics. 

“They’re just trying it out. They’re going to see how much muscle they can flex in a city council election that should be nonpartisan,” Spilsbury said. “If they’re successful, they’re just going to keep going to other city councils and school boards that should be nonpartisan.”

Spilsbury said that making local politics more polarized could harm the work done by city councils. She said if all members of the city council had the same political views, it wouldn’t be productive or healthy for the city. 

“We come up with better solutions to really complex issues. When we have diverse opinions, when we have people with different backgrounds, different political backgrounds, different life backgrounds, that’s what helps you learn,” Spilsbury said. “It’s so crucial to a functioning community and society to have those voices and those different opinions.”

Tyler Montague, a Republican activist, said that while the organization was successful in recalling Spilsbury, the win did not mean much, given that Taylor won by only five points in an area that is already relatively conservative. 

According to Maricopa County election records, there are nearly 21,000 registered Republicans in Mesa District 2 and about 11,000 registered Democrats. 

“It actually wasn’t that impressive of a win given the amount of resources they dumped into it,” Montague said. “Dumping that amount, they underperformed, compared to what you would think that they should be able to do.”

Montague said he believes the main motivation for the organization’s hyper-focus on the recall was “vengeance” and to keep the momentum of their movement going. Montague said that Turning Point tends to hyperbolize minor societal issues, such as Spilsbury’s support for Harris, using that to mobilize people. 

Similar to Coughlin, Montague said he saw the recall as a Mafia-style play by Turning Point, threatening anyone who was considering crossing them. While Montague said Turning Point may be trying to use this campaign to grow their movement, he said without Kirk, he expects the group to eventually become obsolete. 

“Turning Point will lose more relevance, and as they try to survive without the unique charisma of Charlie Kirk, they will also lose relevance and funding,” Montague said. “They may not go all the way away, but they’ll certainly become a much smaller presence.”

Ultimately, Spilsbury said she was disappointed in the recall results but proud of the progress she made while serving as a councilwoman. She said she remains optimistic about Mesa’s future. 

“I do not think we should see people who think differently than we do as our enemies or as evil. I’m all about bridge building, working with the other side,” Spilsbury said. “I want to see every single person as a human being who should be treated with respect. So when we dehumanize people and we vilify people, and we make the other side evil … that’s very concerning to me.”

Taylor did not respond to a request for comment.