Kirk played major role in JD Vance’s rise to U.S. Senate, White House

Kirk, who co-founded Turning Point USA with the goal of engaging a younger audience in politics, was one of the first people Vance reached out to when he considered running for the U.S. Senate in his home state of Ohio in the 2022 election cycle.

Vance ended up winning a Republican primary, then the November general election, before using his platform in the U.S. Senate to become one of the most bombastic and well-known allies to Donald Trump on Capitol Hill.

Vance described himself and Kirk as early Trump skeptics. “Like me, he came to see President Trump as the only figure capable of moving American politics away from the globalism that had dominated for our entire lives,” Vance wrote.

Vance credited Kirk with making the initial connection between himself and Trump’s son, Donald Trump, Jr.

Kirk would go on to use his platform — social media accounts with millions of engaged followers — and his political sway to advocate for Vance to become Trump’s running mate in the 2024 election cycle, “both in public and private.”

Kirk went on to have a significant impact in getting the Trump-Vance ticket elected in 2024, Vance said.

“So much of the success we’ve had in this administration traces directly to Charlie’s ability to organize and convene,” said Vance. “He didn’t just help us win in 2024, he helped us staff the entire government.”