PHOENIX (AP) — Turning Point USA, the organization Charlie Kirk founded to mobilize young, Christian conservatives, has seen a massive surge in interest and support since the activist's assassination last week.
As conservatives mourn Kirk’s death, the group appears poised to remain a MAGA juggernaut as it plots its future without Kirk at the helm.
The group's board announced Thursday that Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, had been unanimously elected as its next leader and will serve as CEO and board chair.
“This was what Charlie hoped for and wanted and he said so numerous times," Tyler Bowyer, the group’s chief operating officer, said on social media. “Erika is one with Charlie and Charlie is one with Erika.”
Turning Point became a multimillion-dollar operation under Charlie Kirk's leadership, and was credited with helping to return President Donald Trump to office. Since Kirk's killing, his podcast and social media have attracted millions of new followers. There has been an outpouring of interest in expanding Turning Point's footprint on college and high school campuses, the group's spokesperson says, and future large-scale events are continuing as planned.
“It will grow,” said Turning Point spokesperson Andrew Kolvet, who is also a producer of “The Charlie Kirk Show" podcast. “What we’re seeing is that Charlie’s legacy will be much greater, broader, and bigger than we even realized in life.”
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office this week that through “this horrible act,” Turning Point “could be maybe bigger than it could have ever been had he been there.”
“And I will say this: He’d be very happy if he saw what was going on,” Trump said.
Both Turning Point and Kirk’s other ventures have received unprecedented interest since he was killed.
Kirk's podcast is now the top show on Apple, his social media accounts have gained millions of followers and his clips have garnered millions of views.
Turning Point has also received over 60,000 inquiries to start new campus chapters, Kolvet said Thursday. The group currently has 3,500 chapters on college campuses and in high schools across the nation.
Aubree Hudson, president of the Turning Point chapter at Brigham Young University that helped organize the Utah Valley University event where Kirk was assassinated, said hundreds of students have reached out about getting involved.
“That’s the beautiful part of this tragedy, that his movement, Turning Point, is exploding," she said.
She predicted conservatives who have been afraid to share their views at school will start speaking up.
“How it looks like without Charlie Kirk, I think we’re all gonna try to figure that out,” she said. “It’s gonna be a curve, but I don’t think it’s gonna slow us down in any way.”
Turning Point USA is not just a campus advocacy group promoting conservative causes. It and its affiliated group, Turning Point Action, played a crucial role in the 2024 election, helping to turn out voters who don't typically cast ballots in swing states including Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin.
It is also a fundraising behemoth.
The group's two primary nonprofit arms collectively took in nearly $100 million in 2024, according to forms filed with the IRS. A separate nonprofit wing called the Turning Point Endowment has another $60.9 million in the bank.
Kirk's widow and the mother of their two children, Erika Kirk, has vowed to continue the group's mission. She said during an emotional broadcast from her husband's studio that a planned campus tour this fall would go on, as would the podcast and one of the group's marquee events — “America Fest” — planned for December.
She said during her remarks that “the movement my husband built will not die.”
“I promise I’ll make Turning Point USA the biggest thing that this nation has ever seen,” she said.
Since its founding, Charlie Kirk has been the operation's public face and crucial to its influence. He was a MAGA celebrity with a loyal following, who grew the operation in large part, through the force of his own personality and rhetorical skill as he traveled the country, speaking and hosting events.
Erika Kirk has a following in her own right. The entrepreneur and podcaster often appeared with her husband at Turning Point events. The former 2012 Miss Arizona USA has also worked as a model, actress and casting director, according to a biography on her website. She founded a Christian clothing line, Proclaim, and a ministry that teaches about the Bible.
Alex Kolodin, a Republican state legislator in Arizona who is closely aligned with the group, said he’s confident Kirk’s widow will hold the movement together.
“She’s not going to let anybody break apart her husband’s legacy,” Kolodin said.
He said Turning Point wouldn’t be what it is today without Kirk’s “genius,” but said that Kirk had inspired a generation of young conservatives who are social-media savvy and know how to engage their generation. Kolodin predicted some of them will rise to the moment and ensure Kirk’s death doesn’t leave a void in the online spaces where young people congregate.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if the next big thing in that direction was a couple of guys that nobody ever heard of,” Kolodin said. “That’s actually a reason that I’m optimistic for the future of it.”
Also playing a leading role in carrying Kirk's torch is Vice President JD Vance, a friend, who transported Kirk's casket from Utah back to Arizona aboard Air Force Two.
On Monday, Vance guest hosted Kirk's radio show, spending two hours interviewing senior administration officials and sharing stories about the impact of a man he credited for his current position.
He called on Kirk’s followers to “get involved," saying “we have to make sure that the next generation of young people feels confident and courageous to speak their mind and to speak the truth.”
___ Colvin reported from New York. Associated Press writer Sejal Govindarao contributed to this report.
