Mesa Recall Shows Scapegoating Trans People Remains A Potent Strategy for Far-Right Republicans

Shortly after the early November elections, LGBTQ+ advocates went online to argue that anti-trans rhetoric “didn’t work” this time, pointing to wins across the country for Democrats who campaigned on other policies.

In Mesa, the question of how far that kind of messaging could go was on the ballot for people in District 2—which covers the central east area of one of the nation’s largest growing suburbs—to recall a city council member.

Turning Point Action, the political arm of Turning Point USA, led the campaign with signature collection and canvassing for Dorean Taylor. Taylor was known in conservative political circles for her work in the 2024 election cycle, when she worked for Turning Point Action’s “Chase the Vote” project, a get-out-the-vote effort for right-wing Republicans. She later helped cure ballots on behalf of the organization in the days after voting closed.

With backing from Turning Point Action and aligned groups like the Center for Arizona Policy, Taylor won her race two weeks ago to become the city’s newest council member and replaced former seat holder Julie Spilsbury, who was re-elected in 2024 with more than 65% of the vote.

Most news coverage of the recall race between Taylor and Spilsbury focused on claims that Spilsbury was out of touch with conservative residents, citing her support for former Vice President Kamala Harris. But that narrative didn’t take hold until far-right groups such as Turning Point Action became more involved in the recall, a LOOKOUT review found.

Though Spilsbury, also a Republican, received more money from local groups and individual donors than her opponent, Turning Point Action doubled down on flyering and text message campaigns that labeled Spilsbury as someone not representative of the current Republican Party. The organization used gender and sexuality as a main reason to recall Spilsbury.

In the end, it worked. Taylor was sworn in at a special council meeting on Monday.

How Turning Point Jump-Started the Recall

Turning Point Action was involved in the recall effort before Taylor even entered the race. In November 2024, the organization’s chief operating officer, Mesa resident Tyler Bowyer, posted on X, formerly Twitter: “I think we should recall Julie Spilsbury.”

Days before President Donald Trump’s second administration began, Bowyer doubled down and disclosed his key motivation: “I think we can get more signatures to remove Julie Spilsbury from office than she got votes because she endorsed [Harris],” he wrote.

Two weeks later, Mesa resident JoAnne Robbins—who was photographed in front of Mesa City Hall with Turning Point Action leadership—filed a recall petition application against Spilsbury. The Arizona Republic reported that Robbins said Spilsbury’s Harris endorsement “played a role” in her decision and that she enlisted Turning Point Action to help pay for signature gatherers.

However, Robbins’ petition cited different reasons: Spilsbury’s votes on three previously approved ordinances, which included repurposing a hotel into a temporary shelter, and raising council salaries and utility rates. While the latter two measures passed unanimously, two council members who voted in line with Spilsbury didn’t face recall efforts.

The Turning Point Action leaders seemed pleased: “I am told that the recall has been filed for Julie Spilsbury, the Mesa City Councilwoman in commercials supporting Kamala Harris,” Bowyer posted, pointing to Spilsbury’s positions on immigration, transgender rights, housing and the city’s utility rate surcharge.

By mid-February, Turning Point Action had created a page on its website dedicated to the recall, listing local events for potential signature collectors.

LOOKOUT reached out to Robbins and Taylor. Neither responded for comment before publishing.

A Recall Fueled by Anti-Trans Messaging

While mainstream media coverage often framed the recall as a partisan fight, Turning Point Action and allied groups centered trans people in their messaging.

Turning Point Action paid for literature circulated during the signature-gathering phase that falsely accused Spilsbury of governing on a “pro-trans agenda” and mischaracterized the 2021 nondiscrimination ordinance as affirmative action for trans people.

The group later deployed organizers to deliver handwritten postcards across the district. One read: “Taylor 4 Mesa because boys don’t belong in girls bathrooms,” signed “Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point.”

Julie Spilsbury ushered in policies that put Men in Women’s spaces

On the “Lift and Love” LGBTQ+ podcast, she made clear she’s influenced by people outside of her district (& AZ) that were big money political operators.

She voted to put men in girls bathrooms. pic.twitter.com/xI684xpmpn
— Tyler Bowyer (@tylerbowyer) October 19, 2025

In April, Taylor addressed the Mesa mayor and city council to demand they repeal the 2021 nondiscrimination ordinance, an effort Arizona Right Watch, an online watchdog account, said specifically targeted trans people.

The political arm of Center for Arizona Policy—a conservative organization aligned with Alliance Defending Freedom, the Heritage Foundation and other far-right groups—created an anti-Spilsbury website with voting information and claims that “Julie Spilsbury has undermined Mesa’s trust and acted out of step with our values.” Much of the content spreads false information about trans people.

An infographic contrasts positions attributed to each candidate, incorrectly equating “women’s and girls’ privacy in bathrooms, showers and locker rooms” with trans-exclusionary “private spaces,” and listing additional anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ+ talking points related to sports.

Center for Arizona Policy Action was among several organizations endorsing Taylor. (Turning Point Action didn’t officially endorse either candidate.) The East Mesa group Legislative District 10 Arizona GOP censured Spilsbury in September and endorsed Taylor weeks later.

Around the same time, Taylor attended at least one Turning Point Action event “held in honor of the late Charlie Kirk’s birthday,” reported Deseret News.

On a local podcast, the host described conversations with petition circulators who claimed that to secure signatures they only needed to mention the nondiscrimination ordinance, which was inaccurately framed as allowing “men in women’s bathrooms.”

Turning Point Action’s political action committee also sent text messages urging Mesa residents to vote for Taylor: “Charlie Kirk was working to stop the radical trans takeover of Mesa. That’s why he supported the removal of Julie,” read one message the progressive political group Indivisible Mesa screenshotted and reposted.

Additionally, Turning Point PAC Arizona funded a video featuring testimonials from young people questioning Spilsbury’s 2021 vote on the nondiscrimination ordinance. The final frame displayed misinformation alongside the message, “Mesa daughters deserve to be protected.”

Even in the final days before ballots were due, Turning Point Action canvassers posted online about conversations with voters. Some of those contained anti-trans remarks.

Months of Disinformation, A Tight Finish

As the race entered its final stretch, Spilsbury struggled to counter the flood of messaging targeting her. She wrote online, “Lies won. Money won,” and said she raised more than $100,000, an amount “unheard of for a Mesa council race.”

LOOKOUT additionally reached out to Spilsbury, who didn’t respond for comment.

Spilsbury received $94,207 in contributions from early July to the last day of September. Taylor netted less than one-third of that total, including personal money she contributed.

In Mesa’s first city council recall election, voters cast more than 18,000 ballots. The ballot-by-mail election cost the city $52,143 to conduct, and Taylor won by 762 votes.

“It wasn’t enough,” Spilsbury said. “I had dozens and dozens of people canvassing, knocking doors, making phone calls, writing postcards, defending me on Facebook, trying to correct the disinformation and lies being spread about me.”

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