Turning Point USA has raised millions of dollars and set up thousands of new campus chapters across the country in the year since its co-founder was assassinated in Utah.
But the group has not found a successor to Charlie Kirk, the architect and the face of the national conservative powerhouse based in Phoenix.
“Nobody’s doing it like Charlie was. The respect he had, the visibility he had for young people. Nobody’s doing it,” said Brandon Tatum, an influencer and Turning Point contributor. “I haven’t seen anybody that stepped up in his wake. But it’s only been a year.”
Kirk was 31 when a sniper shot and killed him at a Sept. 10, 2025, Turning Point event on the University of Utah campus. He left behind two young children. His widow, Erika Kirk, took his place at the helm of Turning Point.
Now Turning Point is facing a major test of its post-Kirk future. It’s the start of the first school year since Kirk was killed and campus chapters swelled. Plus, Turning Point’s political arm is embarking on an ambitious midterm strategy that leaders say Kirk planned before he died.
Turning Point has experienced serious challenges since that day in Utah. As his murder case drags on, conspiracy theories about Kirk’s slaying have turned some Turning Point supporters into distrustful critics.
Plus, the organization is facing a fractured GOP and political backlash from voters who have never been more aware of Turning Point’s far-right, Christian ethos.
“Any conversation of replacing Charlie is a futile effort,” Turning Point spokesperson Andrew Kolvet said. “He was one of one. He was a generational talent. I call him a modern-day founding father, and I think he’s a Christian martyr. And yeah, he was extraordinarily talented.”
Turning Point will host debates this fall
Turning Point has kept Kirk front and center this year. He is still the face of “The Charlie Kirk Show” podcast, and his image is on the posters that Turning Point brings to college campuses. Kirk’s social media accounts are still active, too, broadcasting gavel-to-gavel coverage of his murder case.
Kirk’s endorsement of gubernatorial hopeful U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Arizona, is still a factor on the campaign trail.
But there are signs that Turning Point is searching for Kirk’s successor. The group will hold more than 300 events as part of its “Pick Up the Mic” tour on college campuses this fall.
The events will give lesser-known conservative voices an opportunity to debate college students in Kirk’s signature style and generate viral social media moments, Kolvet said.
“You’ve got to give people an opportunity to kind of rise, rise up,” Kolvet said. “The question isn’t how do you replace Charlie with somebody else. The question has to be how do all of us collectively fill the void in our own way?”
In addition to the 300-stop “Pick up the Mic” tour, Turning Point is going back on the road this fall for a tour of college campuses called “America: Love It or Leave It.”
The events will feature a rotating group of conservative figures such as the president’s son Donald Trump Jr., former National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, “The Daily Wire” boss Ben Shapiro, commentator Glenn Beck and Nala Ray, a Christian activist and former pornographic content creator.
Tatum will appear on the tour with Erika Kirk on Oct. 1 at Grand Canyon University.
A new Charlie Kirk? ‘Not yet’
On a hot August evening, more than two dozen students gathered for the first Turning Point chapter meeting of the semester at Arizona State University.
Miles from the group’s Ahwatukee Foothills headquarters, ASU is at the heart of Turning Point’s college mission.
Psychology major Neela Simon, 20, said she hasn’t seen a national figure take Kirk’s place.
“Not yet,” said Simon, who considers herself a swing voter and appreciated Kirk’s debate style even when she disagreed with him.
These days, she is disappointed by online personalities who have tried to take up Kirk’s mantle but shut down opposing views.
“Whether you’re left or right, I love hearing both sides. I like debating. I like to hear what’s your side, and I would hope you would respect my opinion, and I respect yours. That’s how it goes,” Simon said.
Democrats see opportunity to compete online and on campus
Despite Turning Point’s active fall schedule, Democrats see an opportunity to fill the void that was left by Kirk’s murder by grabbing attention online and on college campuses.
Kirk was so influential that Democratic operative Zee Cohen-Sanchez launched her own group in an effort to counter Turning Point USA.
National Ground Game has taken inspiration from Turning Point’s strategy to cultivate a new generation of political debaters on the left. The group identifies young people and boosts their online profiles.
“When he first died, I thought that there’d be a couple of people that could potentially rise to the top and take the reins of that position, but it doesn’t seem that they have anybody even remotely close to being able to do that,” Cohen-Sanchez said. “I don’t even think Turning Point is even going to be something people are talking about in five years from now.”
The MAGA movement has fractured without Kirk as a unifying figure for the party, Cohen-Sanchez and other political watchers say.
Kirk was an influential voice for young Republicans through his podcast and social media channels. He had the ear of President Donald Trump. He was an early backer of Vice President JD Vance.
Without him, things have frayed.
“It’s just completely changed the entire country and where we’re going politically,” Cohen-Sanchez said. “You can see it on the Republican side. There’s no referee anymore for them.”
That absence was on display last winter at Turning Point’s “AmericaFest” conference in downtown Phoenix.
Conservative commentators fought bitterly over Israel and whether far-right Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes deserved a place in their political movement.
Outside, Cohen-Sanchez’s “Un(Expletive) America Tour” held debates on the periphery of the conference. Organizers passed out blue lighters stamped with “WE CARRY ON THE FLAME,” a reference to a crude internet meme about Kirk’s death.
Looming over it all were the conspiracy theories about Kirk’s murder, which have been fueled by his former friend and employee.
Candace Owens has used her popular podcast to accuse foreign governments and even Kirk’s own inner circle of being involved in his killing. The conspiracy theories are far-fetched but have proven pernicious online with fringe media and political figures.
“Revival was happening until people decided to grift and make a mockery of his death and conspiracies,” Tatum said. “I get pissed off at these conspiracies, but when I think about Charlie Kirk, I just remember all those great things that he did. He was the light. He was a light to the young people, and so hopefully we can keep that going.”
Tatum said he considers Owens a friend but is disappointed by her Kirk conspiracies. Erika Kirk avoids going out in public because she is the subject of attacks and scrutiny, he said.
Still, some young people say they feel like they aren’t getting the whole story of Kirk’s shocking death.
That includes Ralph Ortiz, a 24-year-old astrophysics instructor at ASU.
“I was definitely in a whole different spot a year ago than today in terms of my political compass,” Ortiz said. “Ever since the assassination, the country’s kind of done a 180, and also the Republican Party and probably Turning Point, too.”
Ortiz is a political independent who said he has lost faith in democracy. He noted Trump did not keep his campaign promises to stop wars and lower prices. He started listening to Tucker Carlson’s podcast and his wife tunes in to Owens.
“Him getting assassinated in public made a lot of people realize who was really in control, and it isn’t the people who are running the presidency,” Ortiz said. “I really don’t feel politically homeless. I feel like there is no hope in democracy and a republic at this point, and I see a globalist world that is not unipolar anymore.”
Ortiz said he feels the people who are really in charge are elites, globalists and bankers. He said he feels that other countries are probably controlling the United States, including but not limited to Israel.
Turning Point brings conservative voices to church
In addition to college campuses, Turning Point is looking to another venue in its search for new conservative voices: Church.
Turning Point Faith brings commentators and social media creators to its monthly event at Dream City Church. The influential Phoenix megachurch has close ties to Turning Point and the president. Trump has spoken there several times.
At a recent Turning Point service, many attendees donned “FREEDOM” T-shirts in the style that Kirk was wearing when he was killed.
They were there for Turning Point’s “Freedom Night in America” series, where a fireside chat with a Christian, conservative figure replaces typical services.
Booths for Turning Point Action, Turning Point Faith, its Club America high school chapter program and its “Fly the Flag” voter registration drive were stocked with buttons and flyers in the lobby.
Parishioners prayed for Kirk’s family and applauded when Turning Point Faith chief Lucas Miles said the organization carries a “Charlie Kirk never surrender mindset.”
Miles said he still expects to see Kirk sitting in the Dream City Church greenroom that he walks into before events.
Next month, the group will host young Christian influencer Jacob Smith, he said.
“He is doing phenomenal stuff. He’s got, I mean, you know, millions of followers across all of his platforms,” Miles said. “Gen Z is following him.”
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.