The Phoenix New Times — a local, award winning alt-weekly — didn’t mince words about the Salt River Project election results. In what might be our favorite headline of 2026, they capture the facts (and the vibe) pretty succinctly: ‘Turning Point gets its ass handed to it in the SRP elections.’
Consider this JanePAC’s plug for local journalism, and a celebration of the absolute smack down Turning Point endured in the Salt River Project elections this week.
You’ve heard us beat this drum for months, but context is important, so here’s the lay of the land: SRP is a publicly-held utility that delivers power and water to ~2 million people in the greater Phoenix, Arizona region. Unlike investor-owned utilities that answer to shareholders, Salt River Project is a political subdivision of the State of Arizona. As a public entity, SRP’s decisions aren’t driven by profits or shareholder interests, but by the elected Board of Directors. And the election for seats on that Board of Directors was last Tuesday, April 7.
JanePAC endorsed 13 candidates for SRP’s Board, and those brave clean energy champions went quite literally head-to-head with Turning Point — one of the most well-funded, well-organized far-right groups in the country. The GOP money machine fronted by Turning Point invested heavily in our opponents, and spent months disparaging clean energy (like solar) as too expensive (in a state with some of the highest solar irradiance in the world).
Reasonably, Arizona voters didn’t buy it, and we won ELEVEN of the thirteen races we invested in.
That is the ass-handing to which the Phoenix New Times refers.
The climate corner of the internet is abuzz about the SRP election, with the word “historic” being tossed around like eco-friendly confetti — and it isn’t hyperbolic. With these 11 wins, it’s the first time in history that clean energy candidates hold a majority on the Board of the largest public utility in the United States.
Before Tuesday’s election, fossil fuel interests had a sweaty stranglehold on SRP. Now, our clean energy champions have an 8-to-6 majority — and when these new members are sworn in, consumers will finally have a utility that answers to them.
As with every local battle, the implications for the broader fight are huge. Turning Point is supposed to be the engine of the GOP youth movement, and the load-bearing beams of the GOP’s “grassroots” infrastructure. TP being handed their derrieres in Arizona, where their organization is based, does not bode well for the GOP as we head towards the midterms.
In short, this was a very, very good week for JanePAC, clean energy, and anyone who pays for power or water near Phoenix, Arizona; plus — critically — a massive shift in momentum in the fight for our democracy.
Alright, that’s enough boasting, because we have a lot to do even on days when we win. But before we sign off, we have to celebrate and thank our partners at Lead Locally, who’ve invested in SRP’s governance for over half a decade. The Salt River wins were made possible by Lead Locally’s yearslong organizing effort — full stop, and so much gratitude.
Onward, together!
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