From grief to growth: Turning Point USA becomes a rallying force for Gen Z in battleground Arizona

The assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk is having a heightened impact on the young people of Arizona, where his organization is headquartered.

The location of TPUSA’s headquarters, as well as its political arm, Turning Point Action, has resulted in the group playing an outsized role in the Grand Canyon State, which was considered hotly competitive in 2024.

A Fox News voter analysis found that 48% of people aged 18-29 voted for President Donald Trump in Arizona, with former Vice President Kamala Harris only narrowly winning the demographic with 51%. Overall, Trump won the state with over 52% of the vote. 

TURNING POINT USA SAYS CAMPUS CHAPTER REQUESTS SURGE TO OVER 32,000 AFTER KIRK’S ASSASSINATION

The state also has multiple large universities, including Arizona State University, the University of Arizona in Tucson, Northern Arizona University, and Grand Canyon University, a private Christian institution in west Phoenix.

Arizona State University’s College Republicans and TPUSA are hosting a large vigil for Kirk on Monday night. A source familiar with the event told Fox News Digital that it already has thousands of people registered to attend. 

Jordan Oveson and Chandler Buchanan, both 23 years old, told Fox News Digital outside the Hansen Mortuary Chapel in Phoenix, where Kirk’s body is being held, on Saturday that Kirk had a major impact on Generation Z.

“He really meant a lot to me, helping younger people find their voices and talking about faith and politics. And I feel like a lot of young people have a hard time figuring out what they believe in, and I feel like Charlie Kirk really helped a lot of people, and especially younger people, realize and find what they believe in and find their voices for that,” Buchanan said.

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“I didn’t know too much about him until he came to Grand Canyon University last year and spoke to all of us, and I heard things that he was saying like that he brings all of this through God and through his faith. And I do come from a Christian college, so I already believed in that, but it made me look deeper into what we are as people and our freedom, and he shed a good light on that,” Oveson said.

Buchanan said the tragedy could “bring a lot of people closer to God, and it’s gonna help a lot of people find what they truly believe in.”

TPUSA has seen 37,000 new chapter requests since the Wednesday shooting, and the group already has roughly 900 college and 1,200 high school chapters. There’s also an increase in job and volunteer applications. 

“I have personally received hundreds of offers to work for us, or to work for free, or to just help however,” TPUSA spokesman Andrew Kolvet told Fox News Digital.

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Kirk’s celebration of life is scheduled for Sunday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, and Trump said he is planning to attend. Hotels immediately around the stadium have already sold out for the weekend of the event. 

His wife, Erika Kirk, in her first public remarks since her husband’s assassination, called on people to get involved in the Christian faith by joining a “Bible-believing church” and to get involved in Turning Point USA as a way to honor the slain activist’s legacy.

“To everyone listening tonight across America, the movement my husband built will not die,” she said. “It won’t. I refuse to let that happen. No one will ever forget my husband’s name. And I will make sure of it. It will become stronger. Bolder. Louder and greater than ever. My husband’s mission will not end. Not even for a moment.”