Turning Point Action is linking up with a political group funded by the gambling industry to boost its get-out-the-vote operation.
The Phoenix-based conservative organization plans to cover the cost of
hotel rooms for volunteers in key states to ensure Republican voters cast their ballots ahead of the November midterms.
Turning Point partnered with Citizens Alliance on the effort.
The top donor to the Citizens Alliance super PAC is POM of Pennsylvania, part of a Georgia company embroiled in a Pennsylvania political battle after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled against its product for illegal gambling.
The partnership comes while young men are a key component of Turning Point’s audience. They are some of the most at risk for problem gambling, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Volunteers can sign up to “chase” 100 ballots in the three states that Turning Point Action has put in its “Red Wall” program, according to Turning Point spokesperson Andrew Kolvet.
The states advertised in Turning Point’s marketing are Arizona, Nevada and New Hampshire.
”If you’d like to attend and help chase votes,” Tyler Bowyer, Turning Point Action chief operating officer, said during an appearance on “The Charlie Kirk Show.” “We’ll give you a hotel room. You can stay for at least a week at a time.”
Pennsylvania is not included in Turning Point's marketing for the program, but volunteers may also sign up to chase ballots there, according to a form on the Turning Point and "Commit 100" websites.
Meanwhile, state lawmakers in the Keystone State are weighing the fate of a gambling company that has donated millions to Citizens Alliance. Kolvet did not respond to a request for comment.
POM of Pennsylvania has given nearly $3.4 million to Citizens Alliance this election cycle, according to campaign finance reports. That’s more than half of the super PAC’s $5.5 million in fundraising since 2025.
Super PACs are political committees that can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money. They are barred from coordinating directly with campaigns.
POM of Pennsylvania is a subsidiary of Pace-O-Matic, a Georgia company that develops software for “skill games." The games can be found in laundromats, gas stations and grocery stores.
"They're basically slot machines," said Jon Cohen, who leads gambling policy at the American Institute for Boys and Men. "It's all designed basically just to be a slot machine that exists outside of the confines of state gambling law."
The skill games were exempt from Pennsylvania gaming laws for years. That was until the Pennsylvania high court ruled in June that the machines qualify as slot machines under the Pennsylvania Gaming Act and are therefore illegal in places that do not have a gambling license.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a stay in the case to allow lawmakers to decide whether to legalize the skill games. That has sparked a big political fight in the state, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Pace-O-Matic did not respond to a request for comment.
To Cohen, the funding represents a policy shift. Christian conservatives were opposed to gambling for most of the 20th century, he noted.
"This, to me, is almost like emblematic of the way that Christian organizations have ceded any claim to be sort of the voice of morality on this issue," Cohen said. "They are accepting funding not just from a gambling company, but like, from a scuzzy gambling company, from a company that is actively skirting or at least playing with the bounds of legality and state law."
Citizens Alliance is run by Cliff Maloney, a conservative political strategist from Pennsylvania who Bowyer called “the goat” in an interview. Their groups worked on a similar initiative together in 2024.
More recently, Maloney hosted Bowyer and Paul Goldean, Pace-O-Matic president and CEO, at a "Liberty Mandate Investor Summit" event in West Palm Beach in January, according to the Citizens Alliance website. Other speakers from Arizona included Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Arizona, who is running for governor, and actor Rob Schneider.
Maloney’s group has raised and spent cash to influence Republican primary races in Pennsylvania this election cycle, according to SpotlightPA. He did not respond to an interview request.
Citizens Alliance also operates a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, an entity sometimes referred to as a "dark money" group because its donors are shrouded from public view. The nonprofit arm of Citizens Alliance reported $3.7 million in revenue in 2024, according to its most recent tax filing.
The Citizens Alliance nonprofit and the Citizens Alliance super PAC appear to be linked. They share an address in Virginia, according to the organization's website and a Federal Election Commission filing.
Maloney mentioned Pennsylvania's tie to the Turning Point project in a recent video.
"We have got door knockers on the ground right now. Pennsylvania, Nevada, New Hampshire, Arizona," Maloney said. "Come on out, knock doors with us. Sponsor a ballot chaser. Let's win."
Stephanie Murray covers national politics and the Trump administration for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. She co-hosts “The Gaggle,” The Republic’s weekly politics podcast. Reach her at stephanie.murray@usatodayco.com, on X and TikTok @stephanie_murr and on Instagram @stephaniemurray.news.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Turning Point joins forces with political group funded by gambling firm | Exclusive
