How Will Young Voters Honor Kirk's Legacy?

While every death represents a loss beyond belief, few will trigger a despair so great that those who experienced it will remember their location for years to come. Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA (TPUSA) entered Utah Valley University on a bright, ambient September afternoon to kick off his “American Comeback” tour. Following the massive successes experienced in 2024, from winning the White House to flipping the U.S. Senate, to keeping the U.S. House, and plenty of other GOP victories – including here in Pennsylvania – Kirk felt right to celebrate an American comeback. As far back as 2019, President Donald Trump attended Kirk’s TPUSA events and thanked him in glowing fashion, once remarking, “Amazing job. He's done something that is just incredible for somebody really of his age. You need tremendous talent to do what he's done. Building one of the most powerful youth organizations ever created – Turning Point USA.” Tragically, last month, Kirk’s valiant life was ended in an instant.

How can Kirk’s legacy inspire future younger aspirants like Ream? How will voters, especially those in Generation Z who idolized Kirk, move forward? For starters, the outpouring of emotion from America’s youngest voters has been deafening. Hundreds of thousands of people attended Kirk’s funeral in Arizona. Considering the momentum, from Gen Z’s votes in 2024 to the public adoration of Kirk following September 10th, it appears that voters will remain engaged. Pennsylvania youth, in particular, seem more prepared to carry Kirk’s torch than ever before.

While some people decry, taunt, or even outright mock Kirk’s assassination, an overwhelming majority of Americans immediately expressed their solitude for the charismatic leader. Many businesses witnessed employees making horrific comments and took the appropriate steps to nullify the impact those employees could’ve created for their businesses. Despite this, and some continued threats, millions of Americans took to the streets to hold candlelight vigils and prayer sessions for Kirk. The best symbolism of his impact came at his memorial, held at State Farm Arena in Arizona. Nearly 100,000 people attended Kirk’s funeral on September 21st.

A moral majority has clearly reared its head, and American youth seem deeply engaged and emotionally ravaged by the events on September 10th. So, returning to the initial question, how do the youth move forward? Emotionally and socially, the Kirk assassination left an indelible mark on millions. The TPUSA numbers skyrocketing from a bold yet comfortable several thousand to over one hundred thousand applications show action behind the feelings resulting from this tragedy. The question moving forward, though, is whether voting, specifically voting for conservatives, increases among the youth. Generation Z youth, specifically Gen Z men, voted overwhelmingly for Trump in 2024. Will the young people apply the same momentum toward voting as toward organizing on college and high school campuses, and will the electoral post-mortem numbers reflect this? The first test of this mettle, specifically in Pennsylvania, will appear with the judicial and municipal elections this fall. Places like New Jersey and Virginia will also hold gubernatorial races, in which young people can channel their activism into actual policy by voting. The 2026 midterms will illustrate if this fervor transforms into a political dogma for young people.

While man can never predict the future, the past few weeks portend much ahead. America sits at a turning point. Charlie Kirk represented more than a Facebook profile to millions of young people, and older people alike, across our nation. His brilliance was exhibited in social media posts. His wife and children exemplified the core tenets of his life and all that he promoted. Charlie Kirk, while imperfect, represented goodness. He represented the best of the best, someone willing to stake his life on the defense of American principles and American greatness. May God bless Charlie Kirk. 

Matt Zupon is chairman of the Blair County Republican Party and state grassroots director of Pennsylvania Young Republicans.