Erika Kirk endorsed Vice President JD Vance for president during a Turning Point USA conference in Arizona, promising to launch one of the The country’s most influential conservative organizations are backing Vance in 2028.
“We’re going to get my husband’s friend, JD Vance, elected to 48 in the strongest possible way,” she said during her speech Thursday night at AmericaFest, Turning Point’s first major event since her husband’s murder.
Erika Kirk, CEO of Turning Point USA, speaks during AmericaFest, Turning Point USA’s first summit since the death of Charlie Kirk, in Phoenix, Arizona, on December 18, 2025.
Cheney Orr/Reuters
While the endorsement isn’t a huge surprise given Vance’s close relationship with Charlie Kirk, Erika Kirk and Turning Point, it is significant given the group’s prominence on the right.
Turning Point, founded by Charlie Kirk in 2012, played a key role in helping elect President Donald Trump and shaping the modern conservative movement, particularly among younger voters.
Vance has not yet officially said whether he will run in 2028. In an interview last month with Fox News, Vance said he was focused on the vice presidency and the 2026 midterms, but would have a conversation with President Trump after next year’s election about 2028.
“We’re going to win the midterms, we’re going to do everything we can to win the midterms and after that, I’m going to sit down with the president of the United States and talk to him about it,” Vance said. “But let’s focus on now.”
In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s death, Vance credited the Turning Point founder for his own political rise and for building President Trump’s second administration.
“Much of the success we’ve had in this administration is directly due to Charlie’s ability to organize and rally. Not only did he help us win in 2024, he helped us staff the entire government,” Vance said in the days after Kirk was shot and killed Sept. 10 during an event on the campus of Utah Valley University.
In this Oct. 29, 2025 file photo, Erika Kirk, widow of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, and Vice President JD Vance hug on stage during a Turning Point USA event at the Ole Miss Pavilion at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi.
Jonathan Ernst, Pool via Getty Images, FILE
Erika Kirk’s endorsement comes after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview with Vanity Fair published this week that if the vice president were to run for president in 2028, he would support him.
“If JD Vance runs for president, he will be our candidate and I will be one of the first people to support him,” Rubio told Vanity Fair’s Chris Whipple.
Triumph he himself has said advance and blond They would be “great” options for presidential candidates.
“I’m not sure if anyone would run against those two.” Triumph he said in late October. “I think if they ever formed a group, it would be unstoppable.”
