Before an assassin’s bullet killed Kirk at Utah State University, Turning Point reported about 900 chapters on college and university campuses, and 1,200 high school chapters.
After his murder two weeks ago, Turning Point reported it has received 62,000 requests to start a TPUSA chapter or to join one that already exists.
Financial donations have also poured in, including a $1 million pledge from Lynn Friess. She is the widow of Foster Friess, who was among Kirk’s first major financial backers, and said the new donation is to help TPUSA “grow even stronger” with its rapid expansion.
Kirk’s widow, Erika, has been named CEO by Turning Point's board of directors. Her late husband’s plan was for her to take his place in the event of his death, according to media reports.
Talking about the vision of TPUSA, Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) told Fox News that Charlie Kirk’s goal was to reach a younger generation of Americans. Their concerns and beliefs have been ignored by Washington, the GOP lawmaker said, but they didn't go ignored by Kirk.
“With a clear perspective, talking about Christian values, talking about family, traditional values, talking about truths in politics,” Mullin said. "And giving the opposite viewpoints an open mic to openly debate, in a safe and respectful environment, is what Charlie wanted to do.”
Kirk’s appearance on the Utah campus was meant to be his first campus appearance on “The American Comeback” tour. That fall tour called for Kirk to engage with and debate students on twelve campuses in all, taking him from Utah and Montana to Mississippi and Alabama.
Despite his assassination, or perhaps because of it, the campus tour is moving forward with prominent guests including Vivek Ramaswamy, Glenn Beck, Allie Beth Stuckey, and Megyn Kelly.
The dates for that campus tour, renamed “The Turning Point Tour," can be found here.
The speaker line-up includes Republican lawmakers, too, such as Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin. He spoke (pictured at right) Wednesday night at Virginia Tech alongside Megyn Kelly, the former Fox News host.
"The truth is,” Youngkin told a packed auditorium, “that the question that has been asked over and over again is, ‘Who will be the next Charlie?’ And as I look out in this room and I see thousands of you, I want to repeat the best answer that I have heard: You will be the next Charlie, all of you."
