Erika Kirk, the widow of slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk and the newly appointed CEO of Turning Point USA, endorsed Vice President JD Vance for president in the 2028 election. Kirk made the announcement Thursday during a speech at TPUSA’s America Fest conference in Phoenix.
The event is one of the organization’s largest annual gatherings.
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Kirk, who took over TPUSA after her husband was assassinated in September, said she and the team at TPUSA are going to work to ensure Vance’s election in 2028.
“We are going to get my husband’s friend JD Vance elected for 48 in the most resounding way possible,” Kirk told the crowd.
The endorsement comes even though Vance has not formally announced plans to run for president.
In an October interview with the New York Post Vance said his current focus remains on service as vice president.
“My attitude is the American people elected me to be vice president. I’m going to work as hard as I can to make the president successful over the next three years and three months, and if we get to a point where something else is in the offer, let’s handle it then,” Vance said.
A close political relationship
Before his death, Charlie Kirk and Vance shared a close relationship. Kirk was among the earliest and most prominent conservative figures to publicly advocate for Donald Trump to select Vance as his running mate in 2024.
Following Kirk’s assassination, Vance and his wife canceled scheduled plans and traveled to Utah to meet with Erika Kirk, later escorting Charlie Kirk’s body back to Phoenix, where the Kirks lived. Vance also issued a public tribute, describing Kirk as “a good friend.”
Why the endorsement matters
If Vance ultimately enters the race, support from TPUSA could prove influential. The organization is one of the most prominent conservative youth groups in the country. It plays a major role in grassroots organizing, campus outreach and voter mobilization.
In her remarks, Kirk also emphasized broader Republican goals heading into the 2026 midterm elections. She said TPUSA would work to help the GOP maintain control of Congress.
“We are building the red wall,” she said. “We’re going to make sure that President Trump has Congress for all four years.”
Vance is speaking at the America Fest conference on Sunday.
