Arizona’s Democratic Governor, Katie Hobbs, is under intense scrutiny following her decision to veto a bill that sought to establish a specialty license plate in memory of Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA who was tragically assassinated. The move has sparked outrage among Republicans, who view it as a stark display of political partisanship.
Charlie Kirk, a prominent conservative figure, was killed while addressing attendees at a Turning Point USA event on September 10 at Utah Valley University. He was a resident of Arizona, where he lived with his wife, Erika, and their two children.
The proposed license plate, often called the “Charlie Kirk memorial” plate, was designed to feature an image of Kirk alongside the TPUSA logo set against the backdrop of an American flag. The design included the phrase “FOR CHARLIE” beneath the license plate number.
The legislation outlined that of the $25 fee for acquiring the plate, $17 would be directed annually into the Conservative Grassroots Network Special Plate Fund. Although the bill did not specifically mention TPUSA as the fund’s beneficiary, it indicated that the fund’s director would distribute the collected funds each year to a nonprofit founded in 2012. This organization is dedicated to promoting traditional values, maintaining an active grassroots network in Arizona’s high schools and colleges, and aiding students with voter registration and absentee ballot processes.
Of the $25 fee required for the plate, $17 would be an annual donation deposited into the Conservative Grassroots Network Special Plate Fund, according to the legislation.
While the recipient of the Grassroots Network Special Plate Fund was not explicitly designated as TPUSA in the bill, it noted the director of the fund would allocate revenue annually to a nonprofit organization, founded in 2012, that focuses on restoring traditional values, maintaining a grassroots activist network on high school and college campuses in Arizona, and assisting college students with voter registration and absentee ballots.
TPUSA, founded by Kirk in 2012, is well known for its grassroots activist networks on high school and college campuses. It is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.
The $25 fee and annual $17 donation are consistent with the fees for the other 109 nonprofit license plates offered by the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT).
The state Senate passed the bill, 16-2, with the House of Representatives voting 31-23 in favor prior to Hobbs’ veto.
Specialty plates in Arizona are authorized by the legislature and sent to the governor to be signed into law. They have been offered since 1989.
In a letter explaining the veto, Hobbs cited concerns with the bill “bring[ing] people together,” claiming it would “insert politics into a function of government that should remain nonpartisan.”
“Charlie Kirk’s assassination is tragic and a horrifying act of violence,” Hobbs wrote. “In America, we resolve our political differences at the ballot box. No matter who it targets, political violence puts us all in harm’s way and damages our sacred democratic institutions.
“I will continue working toward solutions that bring people together, but this bill falls short of that standard.”
Specialty license plates with political interests already approved by the state include the “Choose Life” Plate, which benefits the Arizona Life Coalition and its mission to promote anti-abortion advocacy and education; the “In God We Trust” Plate, which benefits conservative Christian legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom; and the Arizona Realtors’ “Homes for All” Plate, which funds affordable housing projects.
Another approved plate, “Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock Plate,” which benefits Solid Rock Teen Centers, features a portrait of the legendary musician, who has made political comments about social issues including gender identity.
Republican state Sen. Jake Hoffman, who sponsored the bill, posted a fiery statement on social media after the governor’s action, claiming her “grotesque partisanship knows no bounds.”
“Even in the wake of a global civil rights leader — an Arizona resident and her own constituent — being assassinated in broad daylight for his defense of the First Amendment, Hobbs couldn’t find the human decency to put her far-Left extremism aside simply to allow those how wish to honor him to do so,” Hoffman wrote. “Katie Hobbs will forever be known as a stain on the pages of Arizona’s story.”
On Saturday, TPUSA COO Tyler Bowyer shared an X post that said, “Deport Katie Hobbs.”
