Charlie Kirk engaged students on college campuses, inviting opposing viewpoints, finding many, then dissecting them. He had real conversations even when young people challenged him from opposite positions that were often drilled into them from a teacher or professor.
When challenged, Kirk was patient and kind but firm and unwavering.
It was in this setting, a college campus at Utah Valley University, when Tyler Robinson, allegedly, fired a bullet into Kirk’s neck.
And it’s when Andrew Kolvet started running.
Not running from Kirk but into the void he left. Kolvet was a friend, a confidant and remains the Turning Point USA spokesman.
There’s been so much work to do to ensure that Kirk’s message isn’t silenced even if his voice is, so much running, that the year has passed quickly for Kolvet, he said on American Family Radio Thursday.
Kolvet said he runs because he cares, and he knows Charlie cared, too.
“The reason we didn't shrink back, or we didn't stop moving, is because I just remember our very first instinct, my very first instinct and so many people around here was just...we have to keep going for Charlie. We owe it to him,” he told show host Jenna Ellis.
Kirk inspired his TPUSA staff as he inspired so many others.
“We feel duty bound and honor bound to just seize every last drop of momentum, of inspiration that came from Charlie's life, in the aftermath of that terrible, tragic assassination, evil,” Kolvet said.
The running has been rewarded.
TPUSA has grown substantially in the year since Kirk’s death.
It claims a presence at more than 6,200 high school and college campuses, communities and faith communities nationwide.
The group now claims more than 1 million student members, compared with more than 650,000 lifetime student members listed for Kirk's organization before his death.
There are ambitious goals to grow the organization in other ways. The Associated Press reported this week that Turning Point Action is actively expanding its political infrastructure, including plans to put staff in all 99 Iowa counties and recruit and register voters as it looks toward the 2028 Republican presidential contest.
In addition to Iowa, Turning Point Action grew its footprint in New Hampshire and Nevada for this year’s midterms, which could also help in 2028.
Erika Kirk, Charlie’s widow and the CEO and Board Chair for TPUSA, has endorsed a potential White House run by Vice President JD Vance.
Charlie Kirk’s death, a dark moment in America, was quickly followed by revival, Kolvet said.
“What sparked was so many people thinking, maybe some even for the first time, ‘okay, eternity is real, and we need to contemplate what happens after death. We need to contemplate what the truth about God is,’” Kolvet said.
Support for TPUSA was overwhelming.
There were calls and letters, stories from people who said Charlie Kirk helped save their marriage, others who said Kirk motivated them to get involved in their local church or in his organization.
All the stories were unique.
“It’s been hard to explain, but it’s like every ounce of your being was just being poured into making sure that you don’t squander what Charlie gave his life for,” Kolvet said.
Carpe Diem
The reaction caught Kolvet off guard.
Living in the moment with Kirk, he could sense the movement growing, sense Kirk gaining in popularity more and more. But he didn’t fully appreciate the extent of the growth.
“I had to consistently and constantly kind of recalibrate just how famous and how well-known he was becoming. I felt like I was always stuck like six months or a year back in the timeline,” Kolvet said.
The event that would jolt Kolvet back to the present was never far away.
Sadly, the last event was also just around the corner. A year later, Kolvet can see the good in what man meant for evil.
“The spirit of the Lord was poured out on this country, and so many people were having the same collective realization, that life is short. The spirit of God was just collectively telling the entire country, seize the moment, seize the day. Tomorrow is not guaranteed,” he said.
