Turning Point USA Expands Reach to Women After Charlie Kirk’s Death

When Charlie Kirk was shot dead in September, a quiet conservative student at Indiana University found her voice.

The Turning Point Shift

Camdyn Glover, 18, had always felt isolated for her anti‑abortion stance. She said her teachers worried about her and she feared losing friends. After Kirk’s assassination, she cried in class while others cheered and clapped.

“We can’t be silenced,” Glover decided.

Now she is traveling to Phoenix with her parents and brothers for this year’s Turning Point USA conference, the first since Kirk’s death. The organization, known for its masculine appeal to college men, is now actively courting young women.

The change is expected to accelerate under the leadership of Erika Kirk, Charlie’s widow. She has taken the helm of a conservative juggernaut with chapters nationwide.

Glover’s Journey

Discovering Turning Point in high school gave Glover a sense of dialogue she had lacked. She felt outcast for her beliefs, especially her anti‑abortion position.

At her first conference, she sensed a political and cultural home.

“They want to promote a strong independent woman who does hold these values and can go stand up for herself,” she said. “But it’s also OK to do it in heels, put some makeup on, wear a dress.”

Erika Kirk’s New Role

Erika Kirk, a former beauty pageant winner, model, actress, and casting director, has founded a Christian clothing line and a ministry that teaches the Bible. She appeared alongside her husband at Turning Point events before his death.

In a recent interview with The New York Times, she said she had fully bought into “boss babe” culture before Charlie showed her a “healthier” perspective on life. She now leads the multimillion‑dollar organization.

“At a memorial for her husband, she said the organization would be made “10 times greater through the power of his memory.”

Vice President JD Vance honored Charlie Kirk at a memorial service in Glendale, Arizona, and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles said Kirk made the “winning difference” for Donald Trump in the 2024 election.

The Gender Gap

A Gallup analysis shows the political gap between young men and women has been growing. Women under 30 are increasingly liberal and support abortion, environmental protection, and gun regulations.

In the last presidential election, 57% of male voters under 30 backed Trump, compared to only 41% of women under 30, according to AP VoteCast.

Turning Point is attempting to close that gap. It hosts events like the Young Women’s Leadership Summit and encourages attendees to embrace traditional family values and gender roles.

Charlie Kirk previously urged that a young woman who wants a husband should pursue a “MRS degree.”

Voices from the Movement

Stella Ross, a devout Catholic, discovered Charlie Kirk on TikTok before the election. She felt her perspectives were treated differently on campus and believed she received unfairly low grades in political science.

She joined Indiana University’s Turning Point chapter the same month that Trump won his comeback campaign. “I was like, wow, if Erika can do it, I can do it,” Ross said.

Ross interns with Indiana’s Republican Party and aspires to be a press secretary for a governor or president. She hopes for job flexibility to care for her future children, believing a traditional nuclear family is “God’s plan.”

She added, “When I think of Erika Kirk, it’s really cool to see that she can live out that balance and it makes me feel like that could be a more realistic future for me because I’m seeing it firsthand.”

Mixed Reactions

Some conservative women are turned off by Turning Point’s traditionalist approach. Raquel Debono, an influencer in New York City, described the event as a “Stepford wives conference,” featuring women in pink floral dresses.

She argued that the emphasis on being traditional wives “leaves out a lot of women who work,” and she warned the movement might lose those voters in the next election cycle.

Debono founded her own organization, Make America Hot Again, where she hosts parties to welcome voters into the conservative movement.

Matthew Boedy, a professor of rhetoric at University of North Georgia, said Erika Kirk could be a more effective messenger because she had focused on her career before meeting her husband. “I do think her story resonates more because she tried it out and can tell them it is not for them,” he said.

Chapter Growth After the Tragedy

Aubree Hudson, president of Turning Point’s chapter at Brigham Young University for only two weeks, attended an event at Utah Valley University with Charlie Kirk. She said she was standing about six feet away when he was fatally shot.

Hudson, 22, comes from a rural farm town in southwestern Colorado. Her family values faith, patriotism, and the Constitution, with a copy of the U.S. Constitution hanging in her parents’ home.

After Kirk’s assassination, Hudson said the number of people—particularly women—joining the organization jumped “big time.”

Emma Paskett, 18, was planning to attend the Utah Valley University event but was unable to after Kirk was shot. She began watching his videos that night.

Paskett considers Erika Kirk a “one in a million” role model, and her leadership was a driving factor in signing up. “That’s exactly what I want to be like,” she said.

Looking Ahead

Turning Point’s expansion into women’s outreach is a strategic effort to narrow a gender divide that has challenged Republicans for years. The organization’s blend of traditional values—encouraging marriage over careers—and health trends promoted by online influencers aims to create a new cultural home for young conservatives.

The movement’s future hinges on its ability to balance traditional messaging with inclusive outreach, as seen in the varied reactions from supporters and critics alike.

The organization’s growth in chapters, especially after the tragic loss of its founder, signals a resilience that could shape the next generation of conservative politics.

Key Takeaways

• Turning Point USA, led by Erika Kirk, is broadening its appeal to young women after Charlie Kirk’s death.
• The organization aims to close the gender gap that shows 57% of male voters under 30 supporting Trump versus 41% of female voters under 30.
• Supporters cite Erika Kirk’s personal story and leadership as key to the movement’s new direction, while critics warn it may alienate working women.

The impact of this shift will be felt across campus chapters and the broader conservative movement as it seeks to redefine its identity for the next generation.