Turning Point’s high school clubs pushed by Charlie Kirk promoted by SC leaders
Standing in front of high school students holding placards that said “Club America in every South Carolina High School” in the first floor lobby of the State House, the governor, lieutenant governor and superintendent of education showed their support for an initiative started by Turning Point USA.
It was Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette who took the lead during the press event, sharing the lectern with the governor’s seal with a group founded by the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, known for openly debating with students on college campuses.
Evette was joined by Gov. Henry McMaster and Superintendent of Education Ellen Weaver at the press event, which came 60 days before a hotly contested Republican primary for governor.
Evette is among the seven candidates who have filed for the GOP nomination, none of whom have broken away to become the clear frontrunner in a race where roughly a third of the Republican primary electorate is undecided.
“I’m standing here as a mom who feels blessed that I gave my kids the backbone to not allow people to try to change what their views were, and that’s why I stood behind these kids,” Evette told reporters. “If I was running for governor or not running for governor, I am proud to spearhead this. I’m proud to stand with them, and I’m proud to talk at any school board meeting where a high schooler is looking to have a club that they’re being denied.”
Andrew Sypher, the chief field officer for Turning Point USA, said this is the Phoenix-based group’s 10th state partnership and their aim is to make sure no student group is discriminated against when creating a chapter.
“It isn’t a left versus right, it isn’t a socialist versus capitalist. It is a pro-constitutional group that believes in discourse and dialog, that every student has the right to assemble. Every student has the right to organize on their academic campus without being discriminated or prohibited by bias administrators,” Sypher said.
Tate Sargent, a 17-year-old junior at Palmetto High School in Williamson, started a chapter at his school and was initially met with push back.
“They tried to discourage us. They hoped for silence. The division was taking hold on our campus, and we needed a place for unity and free speech to flourish. So, I stood up,” Sargent said. “We worked to overcome the criticism with perseverance and made our mission known to be a unifying force on campus.”
Shortly prior to Friday’s news conference, Sylvia Wright, a Democratic candidate for superintendent of education, was critical of the Republican leaders supporting the group.
“I believe that endorsing a program tied to a politically active organization risks introducing partisan influence into classrooms, potentially undermining the neutrality that public education strives to maintain,” Wright said in a statement.
“Public schools are meant to foster critical thinking, not promote a particular political ideology,” Wright added. “We should be empowering students to think for themselves — not indoctrinating them to messaging that could be perceived as partisan or one-sided.”
Evette defended the program.
“It is 100% right, because what they’re doing is everything they’re teaching is rooted in the Constitution, and I find it laughable that the Democrats who have been forward on indoctrinating our kids for so long, now that they have opposition, now that they have another perspective on the horizon, now they feel challenged and scared,” Evette said.
This story was originally published April 10, 2026 at 2:43 PM with the headline "Turning Point’s high school clubs pushed by Charlie Kirk promoted by SC leaders."
