The board of conservative group Turning Point USA unanimously elected Erika Kirk as its new chief executive officer and chair of the board, according to a post on the organization's official X account.
The decision follows previous private conversations in which leader Charlie Kirk reportedly expressed his desire for Erika Kirk to assume those roles in the event of his death.
Charlie Kirk, who cofounded Turning Point USA to galvanize young voters to Republican causes, was assassinated on a Utah college campus last week,.
His widow's election comes at a time when the organization is focused on turning out young voters in next year's congressional midterm elections.
"Charlie prepared all of us for a moment like this one. He worked tirelessly to ensure Turning Point USA was built to survive even the greatest tests. And now, it is our great pride to announce Erika Kirk as the new CEO and Chair of the Board for Turning Point USA," the board announced.
Tyler Robinson, 22, is accused of firing the single rifle shot from a rooftop that killed Kirk, 31, during a campus event at Utah Valley University on September 10.
In a video address after her husband's murder, Erika Kirk, 36, signaled that she would be taking over his mission to recruit young Americans to conservative causes. Kirk shares her husband's Christian faith and conservative values.
"You have no idea the fire that you have ignited within this wife, the cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry," she said at the time.
The TPUSA's full announcement reads as follows:
In Ecclesiastes, King Solomon wrote that mankind is to be tested by God. Today we are facing such a test, yet we also know that God has prepared us with everything we need to overcome this ordeal.
It was the honor of our lives to serve as board members at Charlie's side. Charlie prepared all of us for a moment like this one. He worked tirelessly to ensure Turning Point USA was built to survive even the greatest tests. And now, it is our great pride to announce Erika Kirk as the new CEO and Chair of the Board for Turning Point USA.
All of us at Turning Point USA have a special role in carrying Charlie Kirk's mantle and completing his vision of bringing us all closer to our Lord and fostering a prosperous country for generations to come. As Charlie always said, 'We have a country to save.' We will not surrender or kneel before evil. We will carry on. The attempt to destroy Charlie's work will become our chance to make it more powerful and enduring than ever before.
May God Bless Erika, the Kirk family, and the entire team at Turning Point USA.
The letter was signed by Doug De Groote, Mike Miller, Tom Sodeika, and David Engelhardt.
This report contains material from Reuters.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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