Turning Point set to boost JD Vance for president in key states after Erika Kirk's endorsement
On the heels of the AmericaFest convention held by Turning Point USA (TPUSA), in which the group formerly led by slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk indicated it would support Vice President JD Vance for president in 2028, the group is set to start early support for Vance in key states such as Iowa and New Hampshire.
Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada have traditionally been among the first states to hold presidential primaries or caucuses, although neither party has set its formal presidential primary and caucus calendar yet.
TPUSA's planned Iowa operations were first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
The group's CEO Erika Kirk endorsed Vance for president on Thursday, vowing to throw one of the most influential conservative organizations in the country behind him.
"We are going to get my husband's friend JD Vance elected for 48 [48th president] in the most resounding way possible," Kirk said during her speech at AmericaFest on Thursday night.
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 Donald Trump about 2028 after next year's elections.
Tyler Bower, the chief operating officer of TPUSA who leads the group's grassroots political operations, told ABC News in an interview on Monday that the organization is already putting the full weight of its operation behind Vance ahead of 2028.
TPUSA is already building out staff and operations in Iowa and plans to open new offices in New Hampshire and Nevada in the new year.
Bower said it was an easy decision to get behind Vance so early.
"He's the clear-cut leader by a lot. This isn't highly competitive. He's the vice president of the US," Bower said, adding that ultimately it will be up to Vance to make his decision to run.
"We want to vocalize early that we are leading the recruiting and preparation effort in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada for JD," he added, noting Secretary of State Marco Rubio has already said he would back Vance if he were to run for the White House.
Andrew Kolvet, the executive producer of "The Charlie Kirk Show" and a TPUSA spokesman, said on Fox News on Monday, "I know it got a lot of headlines. But if anybody was around the org in any way, shape, or form, they knew that Charlie was very close to the vice president and had basically endorsed him already for months beforehand, so it was no surprise for us," he said, adding that the group had decided to reveal "what everyone knew was true behind the scenes."
He added later, "We're very happy for the here and now, so we're going to kind of let the next year play out. But heading into 2028, we're excited to get behind him and the machine that Charlie built and that's still in place at Turning Point's going to be all in for the vice president."
TPUSA sees getting behind Vance early as a major advantage against Democrats in 2028, who in their view have a wide-open field. Among those considered to be contenders are Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom, New York U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, former Vice President Kamala Harris and a variety of other figures from across the Democratic Party's ideological spectrum.
"The other side is a disaster," Bower said. "We just put Nicki Minaj on stage blasting Gavin Newsom while it's a total free-for-all over there."
But over the weekend, at the first major TPUSA event since Charlie Kirk's assassination in September, growing splinters on the right were on full display, as the ongoing fight for the future of the conservative movement erupted on stage with leading voices from Ben Shapiro to Tucker Carlson trading blows.
For Bower, having that fight out in the open now means they are ahead of schedule in the lead-up to 2028.
"We're rock solid. The right is hashing out policy disputes that usually surface right in the lead-up to a presidential election," he said. "We're about two years ahead of schedule. Issues usually fought about heading into the 2028 convention were fought over and settled at AmericaFest."
