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Erika Kirk, the widow of slain right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, has thrown her support behind US Vice President JD Vance for the 2028 presidential election, marking one of the earliest endorsements in what is expected to be a highly contested race for the White House.
Speaking to thousands of supporters at AmericaFest on Thursday night, Kirk announced her backing for Vance to become the 48th president of the United States.
The event was the first major gathering organised by Turning Point USA since the death of her husband, whose organisation played a significant role in mobilising young voters for Donald Trump during the 2024 election campaign.
Kirk told the crowd she was determined to see her late husband’s close friend elected, pledging that the movement he helped build would work to secure Vance a decisive victory.
The vice president is scheduled to address the conference on Sunday, further fuelling speculation about his political ambitions.
Although Vance has not formally declared his intention to run in 2028, he is widely expected to do so as the Make America Great Again movement begins to consider its future beyond Trump.
An early endorsement from Turning Point USA, which has grown increasingly influential among conservative youth voters, could help generate momentum and position Vance as a frontrunner.
The endorsement also comes at a time of visible strain within the MAGA movement, with divisions emerging and some prominent figures voicing frustration with Trump’s second-term agenda.
Last month, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene launched a sharp public attack on Trump’s policies, accusing him of betraying his supporters, and later announced plans to leave Congress in January.
Her comments have prompted speculation that she could mount her own bid for the presidency.
Other figures on the far right, including white nationalist Nick Fuentes, are also seen as attempting to stake a claim to leadership within the movement as it looks ahead to the post-Trump era.
Vance had a close personal relationship with Charlie Kirk in the years leading up to his death.
Kirk was shot dead on a college campus in Utah in a killing that shocked the nation and plunged conservative circles into mourning.
In the aftermath, Vance travelled to Utah to support Erika Kirk and accompanied her as her husband’s body was returned to their home in Arizona, with footage showing the vice president walking alongside the coffin as it was loaded onto Air Force Two.
Charlie Kirk, who was 31, was known for his confrontational speaking tours on university campuses, where he challenged students to debates on contentious political issues.
Edited clips of these exchanges helped him build a large online following, which he used to grow Turning Point USA into a powerful youth-focused conservative movement.
Following his death, Donald Trump posthumously awarded Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, describing him as a martyr for truth and freedom.
