**An executive board member of the Turning Point USA campus chapter told The Daily Illini that the greater TPUSA organization had discouraged executive board members from interviews.**
In its first gathering since the assassination of founder Charlie Kirk, the University’s chapter of Turning Point USA elected a vice president, hosted a Republican candidate for congress and revealed a controversial future guest speaker.
Attendees of the Thursday meeting included students and non-students, as well as 13th district congressional candidate and Champaign County Board Member Jeff Wilson.
Josh George, sophomore in LAS and Information Sciences, who was elected vice president during the meeting, told The Daily Illini that TPUSA must take advantage of a current groundswell of momentum to amplify conservative voices.
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In his speech for the position, George said that he attended Charlie Kirk’s memorial in Arizona and alluded to a “mandate” to continue Kirk’s ideas and legacy.
TPUSA’s plans for the rest of the semester include holding tabling and volunteer events as well as welcoming self-described troll and right-wing personality Alex Stein to campus.
TPUSA showed two of Stein’s videos —“Alex Stein Calls Councilwoman a BIG BOOTY LATINA” and “Man Made MILLIONS Betting on Trans Athletes?!” — as examples of his work, eliciting scattered laughs from the crowd.
Stein gained notoriety in 2022 when he sexually harassed U.S. Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez on the Capitol steps, calling her a “big booty Latina” and saying she wants to “kill babies.”
TPUSA member Jackson Ernst, freshman in LAS, told The DI after the meeting of awakening a sleeping giant of republican voters on campus and in the county.
“Many people who consider themselves to be liberals or democrats or left-wing at all, a lot of that is just through what they’ve seen in media, they’ve gotten from their parents, and they don’t really have an argument for themselves,” Ernst said. “If we try to speak to them (about) why we believe in our position, that can hold true to them.”
Among the politicians looking to redden the district is Wilson.
Wilson, a Republican, holds a masters in nuclear engineering from the University and served in the Navy on a submarine. During the meeting, he bemoaned what he called the gerrymandering of the district and said he would enforce President Donald Trump’s executive orders if elected.
“Our mission and purpose in life is to flip that around, and make it a god-fearing, country-loving, Illinois-supporting district,” Wilson said, pointing to a map of the snake-like 13th district.
Sam Holmes, sophomore in LAS and president of the campus TPUSA chapter, made clear during the meeting that Wilson’s appearance was not an endorsement. TPUSA is prohibited from officially endorsing political candidates because they are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
In an interview with The DI, Wilson said that students should vote for him because Illinois is “not a good place for jobs” and referenced large numbers of college students leaving the state after graduation.
“Illinois is just not business-friendly or economic-friendly to have either a small business or a large business,” Wilson said.
According to the 2023-24 Illini success report, which used data from 4,142 graduates of the University, 69% “chose a first destination within the state of Illinois, with an additional 30% selecting other U.S. destinations.”
Wilson, who spent decades in the nuclear industry, called for more clean and nuclear energy and an end to the moratorium on building plants. He said this would draw business, making it so “people who go to school here can stay here.”
Asked about the current administration’s affection for coal, he pointed to Trump’s executive orders that call for “unleashing” different types of energy. Wilson added that if the state were to transition to a total reliance on clean energy, Illinois would see blackouts akin to the ones experienced in Europe months ago.
Regarding tariffs implemented by the administration affecting both grocery prices as well as the Illinois soybean industry, Wilson said there were upsides to tariffs, such as revenue generation for the country.
“It’s going to benefit some and not others … and yes, I know we have a tariff with China and that’s a huge market for soybean, and I agree it’s hurting farmers right now and that bothers me, but I think it’s going to pan out,” Wilson said.
Wilson admitted, however, that he “doesn’t know for sure” yet.
Although an ardent Christian, Wilson was reluctant to reiterate the “god-fearing” remark he made during the meeting, but voiced his belief that the country “is better when there is some religious or moral standard.”
