Tea Party Patriots leader claims to be partnering with Charlie Kirk in door knocking effort

Jenny Beth Martin is a major figure in the election denialist movement

Written by John Knefel

Research contributions from Madeline Peltz

Published

Tea Party Patriots co-founder Jenny Beth Martin, a major figure in the election denial movement, said on Saturday that her group is partnering with Turning Point Action, a conservative youth organization founded by right-wing media host Charlie Kirk, in campaigning on behalf of former President Donald Trump.

“We are partnering with Turning Point Action and with America First Works on the door knocking throughout the country,” Martin said.

From the September 7, 2024, edition of Real America's Voice's War Room

JENNY BETH MARTIN (TEA PARTY PATRIOTS): We also have phone banking. We have door knocking. We are partnering with Turning Point Action and with America First Works on the door knocking throughout the country. So there are a lot of opportunities for that. And we have poll watching. We've got poll watcher trainings specifically in Georgia, but we connect people with the people who are heading up election integrity efforts — usually they're connected with the Election Integrity Network — but those who are heading up those coalitions in other states. 

“We've got poll watcher trainings specifically in Georgia, but we connect people with the people who are heading up election integrity efforts — usually they're connected with the Election Integrity Network — but those who are heading up those coalitions in other states,” Martin added, referring to the right-wing “election integrity” group founded by former Trump adviser and attorney Cleta Mitchell. 

Martin made the comments on Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast, long a hub of election denial activity, and her remarks exemplify the extensive overlap between the Republican National Committee, the Trump campaign, and outside conservative organizations. The Washington Post reported in May that the Republican National Committee was adopting a “leaner” operation, including considering partnering with Turning Point. In June, Politico reported that Turning Point was a “central player” in “recent collaborations between the campaign, RNC and outside groups.” Kirk’s group later connected far-right extremists with the RNC and the Trump campaign.

Media Matters has previously reported organizational ties between Tea Party Patriots and Turning Point Action. In January, Martin claimed her group was working with Kirk’s to create a “relational organizing” app to facilitate outreach to friends and family. And in August, she wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that their groups would be working together “to build the largest conservative ballot chasing and GOTV operation in American history” because “this election is too important to leave it to the consultant class.”

Both Martin and Turning Point have played key roles in the election denial movement. Martin’s group sponsored Trump’s D.C. rally on January 6, 2021, prior to the riot at the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters seeking to overturn the 2020 election results, and Talking Points Memo reported that Martin “helped connect the political, legal, and activist elements of the push to keep Trump in power.” More recently, Martin supported rule changes to the Georgia State Election Board that could potentially be used to overturn the state’s election results if Democrats win in November. (Mitchell’s Election Integrity Network supported the rule changes as well.) 

Kirk regularly pushes election denial on his radio show, and Tyler Bowyer, Turning Point Action’s Chief Operating Officer and an RNC member, was indicted as one of 11 “fake electors” in Arizona as part of Trump’s scheme to stay in power after losing the 2020 presidential election.