Texas’ Dan Patrick Puts $1 Million Behind Turning Point USA—A Blueprint for a National Civics Offensive

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is putting $1 million in campaign cash behind Turning Point USA, vowing to seed a chapter of the conservative youth group on every college and high school campus in the state. Announced on Nov. 7, the effort doubles as a tribute to slain TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk and a test case for a broader, state-by-state conservative civics model.

Patrick stated in a post on X that the donation followed a call with TPUSA executives, emphasizing Texas’s potential to lead in chapter growth. Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath met with TPUSA Senior Director Josh Thifault on November 3, 2025, according to the Texas Tribune, to discuss establishing high-school chapters statewide, though no formal partnership was confirmed. The meeting took place days before Patrick’s pledge, and Thifault followed up via email on TPUSA’s existing collaborations in Florida and Oklahoma.

𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐊 𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐃𝐆𝐄𝐒 $𝟏 𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐏𝐔𝐓 𝐓𝐏𝐔𝐒𝐀 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐍 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐆𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐇 𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐋 𝐂𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐔𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐄𝐗𝐀𝐒

Earlier this morning, I announced that @KenPaxtonTX and I will be speaking at a @TPUSA event at the…

— Dan Patrick (@DanPatrick) November 7, 2025

Patrick wrote in part, 

“As we wrapped up the call, I shared a fond memory of Charlie from President Trump’s 2017 Inauguration. Charlie and I were going to the Trump Hotel to celebrate and walked in the door at the same time. We began a conversation from there. 

I was always inspired by his mission “to identify, educate, train, and organize students to promote the principles of freedom, free markets, and limited government.” Charlie was confident he could do that. Later, he brought his faith into his discussions on campus with boldness and conviction that only grew his following. 

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.”

Kirk was fatally shot on September 10, 2025, during a Turning Point USA “American Comeback” tour stop at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. A single round, fired from a nearby rooftop into a crowd of roughly 3,000 people, hit him in the neck. Police and the FBI initially offered a reward of up to $100,000 for information on the gunman. Within days, investigators arrested 22-year-old Tyler James Robinson, who now faces aggravated-murder and related charges in Utah state court.

Patrick and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton spoke at a TPUSA event at the University of Houston on November 11, 2025, hosted by the campus chapter. TPUSA has pursued similar expansions in Florida and Oklahoma, with Texas’s effort described as a blueprint for national rollout.

The Texas initiative dovetails with Turning Point USA’s role in the newly formed America 250 Civics Education Coalition, announced September 17, 2025, by the U.S. Department of Education alongside the America First Policy Institute, Hillsdale College, and more than 40 organizations.

U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said the coalition is meant to ensure “every young American understands the beauty of our nation” and warned that a country cannot survive if its people forget their values.

Turning Point Education Chief Education Officer Dr. Hutz H. Hertzberg said the group is “more resolved than ever to advance God-centered, virtuous education” and cast the coalition as an effort to “restore, revive, and reclaim robust American civics education” nationwide.

For now, Patrick’s pledge is a political and financial commitment, not a new bill—but supporters already see Texas as the proving ground for similar efforts in other states, Arizona in particular, as Turning Point USA’s proverbial backyard, where they’re already facing pushback, and Democrat strongholds like California or New York to truly join the ideological battlefield.