The assassination of Charlie Kirk, 31, while hosting an event in Orem, Utah, struck down the most influential voice in young conservatism and left his movement suddenly grappling with what comes next.
Kirk’s rise from a suburban Chicago teenager to the face of the Republican Party’s youth wing reshaped the political landscape and energized a new generation of conservatives.
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“Every young person in the conservative movement has a Charlie story,” said Jayme Franklin, founder and CEO of The Conservateur. “He never made this movement about himself; he was always about serving and lifting others. He was a happy warrior. Every time I saw him, he had a big smile on his face.”
Kirk founded Turning Point USA in 2012 at just 18, with seed money from conservative donors eager to expand the party’s reach to younger audiences. That group, which began on college campuses, quickly drew attention with its provocative events and Kirk’s willingness to debate critics onstage. Those clashes became viral videos that cemented his reputation as a culture warrior. “There are few people in American history who have inspired a true generational movement,” Franklin said. “Charlie was the thought leader of Gen Z.”
Madeleine Schultz, now a law student at Fordham University, was president of Turning Point USA’s chapter at the University of Illinois, one of the first campuses where Kirk spoke. She remembers being stunned at his recall. “Every single time, he remembered who I was, he remembered details about my life,” she said. “It wasn’t about, oh, how many people did you get to sign up. It was, how are you doing? How can we help you succeed? There are very few people like him in this world.”
From those early college chapters, the organization grew rapidly. By the late 2010s, it had expanded into high schools, giving conservatives a presence with students before they reached college.
During a tour at Turning Point USA’s Phoenix headquarters last October, staff described the evolution from a Chicago garage startup to a sprawling campus funded by donors in 2018. What began as a handful of campus groups now stretches across more than 3,500 high schools and universities, supported by dozens of full-time staff who manage student activists like a professional sales force.
A faith program has partnered with thousands of churches, while media and design teams inside the Phoenix offices churn out event logistics, social media content, and a slate of shows and podcasts that have attracted millions of online views. Beginning in 2019, the push into digital turned the organization into both a grassroots network and a media brand.
By 2019, Kirk expanded into electoral politics with Turning Point Action, a 501(c)(4) that allowed his network to directly campaign for Republicans. The organization raised tens of millions of dollars and built a sophisticated ground game focused on “chasing” low-propensity voters. Ahead of the 2024 election, it deployed paid staff and volunteers in battlegrounds like Arizona and Wisconsin, often with tactics more advanced than the Republican National Committee’s own. “Without our efforts in Wisconsin, Trump would not have won,” Kirk told the Washington Examiner in an interview after the race.
While his turnout machine was credited with aiding Trump’s return to the White House, Kirk defined the movement above all. Graham Allen, a friend and host of the Dear America podcast, recalled traveling with Kirk to campuses nationwide. He said Kirk would insist on giving the microphone to the people most opposed to him, convinced that open debate could change minds. “Charlie never went in with any intentions of demeaning anyone,” Allen said. “He was fearless, and he believed that dialogue, not damnation, was the only way forward.”
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Allen said Kirk’s faith shaped everything. Before events, he remembered joining him and his wife, Erika, in prayer, asking for the right words. “That was Charlie Kirk,” Allen said. “Not the figure in the viral clips, the man who prayed before every debate, who loved the Lord, his wife, and his children above all.”
That combination of personal faith, bold activism, and national political influence gave Kirk a stature few others in the movement could match. “Charlie is irreplaceable,” Franklin said. “He was a once-in-a-generation talent and leader with the character and vision to one day be president. Turning Point and our entire country have suffered an immeasurable loss. But Charlie would never want this movement to end with him.”
For Schultz, the change Kirk brought to campus politics was undeniable. “When I started in 2016, it was not cool to be conservative,” she said. “By the time I graduated in 2020, people thought it was cool. He made it feel fun and friendly, not stuffy. He built a coalition of libertarians, Republicans, immigrants, Jews, gay conservatives, and said everyone had a place under this big umbrella.”
That coalition, built across conferences, summits, campuses, and relentless digital media, made Kirk one of Trump’s most visible allies and a political figure in his own right. Some supporters even mused about his own future in elected politics, speculating he could one day mount a presidential run. Franklin said his death has “shaken America awake and unleashed a lion in the hearts of the young people who loved him, followed him, and were forever changed by his example.”
Allen echoed that sentiment. “Whoever leads next is inheriting a Christ-centered, America-proud movement that’s going to be stronger than ever before,” he said. “Charlie Kirk’s voice did not die [Wednesday]. He will be the catalyst for a million Charlie Kirks.”
Tyler Bowyer, chief operating officer of Turning Point Action, described the aftermath as a “nightmare” for staff and supporters but said the flood of messages showed a resolve to carry on Kirk’s legacy. In a post on X, he stressed that nothing could replace him as a husband and father, urging conservatives to honor his memory by growing their families, loving their country, and fighting for the ideals he championed.
The day after Kirk’s murder, his supporters gathered at Turning Point USA’s headquarters in Phoenix to pay their respects to the man who built a movement. His memorial was covered with flowers and handwritten notes of love and gratitude. One image of Kirk carried the message: “May Charlie be received in the merciful arms of Jesus, our loving Savior.”
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What happens next will determine whether Kirk’s vision can outlive its founder. For his supporters, the only answer is to carry it forward. Allen said his death should be seen as a call to action. He argued the battle for America’s future would now be fought through ideas, rooted in faith and values that Kirk championed.
“I think that this is a call for us to stand even more bold and more brave than ever before,” Allen said. “If Charlie could talk to us right now, I believe he would mirror the words of our president: fight, fight, fight.”