{"id":459659,"date":"2025-09-29T05:44:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T05:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/459659\/"},"modified":"2025-09-29T05:44:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T05:44:08","slug":"virginia-governors-race-to-test-gop-youth-outreach-after-kirk-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/459659\/","title":{"rendered":"Virginia governor\u2019s race to test GOP youth outreach after Kirk death"},"content":{"rendered":"

This year\u2019s Virginia governor\u2019s race will test whether outrage over Charlie Kirk’s death will galvanize Gen-Z conservatives to vote.<\/p>\n

\"play\"<\/p>\n

Stephen Miller says assassination ‘immortalized Charlie Kirk’<\/p>\n

Stephen Miller says Charlie Kirk’s assassination immortalized him and ignited a powerful movement.<\/p>\n

BLACKSBURG, Virginia \u2013 \u00a0Chloe Bolin, 25, stood in line for more than an hour to get a good seat at\u00a0Turning Point USA\u2019s<\/a> Virginia Tech rally. A few weeks ago, it might not have occurred to her to attend.<\/p>\n

Like many students waiting outside, Bolin, 25, first discovered Charlie Kirk<\/a>, the organization\u2019s co-founder, a few years ago when his videos began popping up on her TikTok \u2018For You\u2019 page. A devout Christian, Bolin\u00a0became enamored by Kirk\u2019s messages.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She rarely listened to Kirk\u2019s podcast and didn\u2019t consider herself an active follower of his. But when she found out he was murdered<\/a> while speaking on a college campus\u00a0in Utah Sept. 10, Bolin said she began to cry. She attended the pre-planned Turning Point tour stop at Virginia Tech to show her support for Kirk\u2019s faith-based politics. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSince Charlie’s passing, I’ve felt more inclined to be brave and say what I think and stand up for what I believe in,\u201d Bolin said.<\/p>\n

As Gen-Z conservatives<\/a> like Bolin mourn Kirk\u2019s death, many say they\u2019ve become\u00a0politically galvanized because of it \u2013 and Republican leaders are seeing an opportunity to capture that energy at the ballot box.\u00a0<\/p>\n

More: <\/strong>Trump vs. the midterm blues: Can he get MAGA voters excited (and voting) in 2026?<\/a><\/p>\n

President Donald Trump<\/a> and the GOP have tied the 31-year-old’s killing into broader messages casting Democrats as radical, hate-filled and violent. Some candidates running in the 2026 midterm<\/a> have already invoked Kirk\u2019s assassination in campaign ads and fundraising materials.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s Virginia governor\u2019s race, between Republican Lieutenant Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears and Democrat Abigail Spanberger, could be among the first tests of whether that strategy will work to drive youth voter turnout. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Tipping the scales\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bob Holsworth, a longtime political analyst in Virginia, described the Turning Point USA rally at Virginia Tech as an \u201ceffort to do something that the Republicans have been unsuccessful at in most previous elections\u201d in the state.\u00a0\u201cThat\u2019s mobilizing young people on college campuses,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Exit polls from the 2020 presidential election<\/a> showed then-Democratic candidate Joe Biden<\/a> leading Trump among voters aged 18 to 29 by 30% in Virginia. A poll conducted by the company Atlas Intel<\/a> two days before the 2024 presidential election showed Harris winning that same group of people in the state by a mere 3%. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Kirk played a pivotal role in helping Republicans close the gap among young voters in 2024. Turning Point led get-out-the-vote efforts and Trump, in December 2024, credited\u00a0the organization and Kirk <\/a>with helping achieve\u00a0his win. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Adam Pennings, executive director of Run Gen Z, a nonprofit supporting young conservative candidates, said he expects to see \u201chigher voter turnout, greater political engagement, and more young conservatives running for office\u201d in the wake of Kirk\u2019s death.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Students still unlikely to vote, except for president<\/p>\n

But so far, Kirk\u2019s death hasn\u2019t shaken up this year‘<\/strong>s race for Virginia’s governor.<\/p>\n

Going back to 1977, Virginia has elected a governor in the opposite party as the president, every election cycle except 2013. Democrats are favored to win this year’s race.<\/p>\n

Polls from early and mid-September showed Spanberger, a former CIA operative, about 10 points ahead of her Republican opponent. Among voters aged 18 to 29, Spanberger registered 20% more support<\/a> than Earle-Sears, according to a Sept. 18 survey by Christopher Newport University conducted days after Kirk\u2019s death. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Close to 40,000 students attend Virginia Tech. Fewer than 3,000 filled the maroon seats in the auditorium where Turning Point hosted its event.<\/p>\n

As they waited to enter the building, some of Kirk\u2019s most ardent supporters appeared apathetic about upcoming off-year elections, as Turning Point Action volunteers asked them if they were registered to vote.<\/p>\n

Most of the students, clad in Make America Great Again hats and T-shirts emblazoned with Kirk\u2019s face, ignored the\u00a0registration queries and continued chatting with friends. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Many of the students USA TODAY spoke with said they were excited to vote in the 2028 presidential election but weren\u2019t yet sure whether they\u2019d cast a ballot this year or in the 2026 midterms. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Bolin, who is studying for her doctorate in veterinary medicine, said she has never considered herself politically engaged and has only ever voted in presidential elections in the past. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Kirk\u2019s death galvanized her to more actively speak up about her beliefs. But Bolin, who is originally from Ohio, said she\u2019s still not sure if she\u2019ll vote in future local and state elections. She opted not to register in Virginia, saying she doesn’t know much about the candidates. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t want to just vote for the Republican,\u201d she said, adding that there are some policy areas where she’s more on the Democratic side, including environmental issues. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Even among students who said they planned to vote in Virginia\u2019s gubernatorial election, few\u00a0knew the name of the candidates.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m going to probably vote for the Republican. What’s her name?\u201d said Landon Pond, a 20-year-old from Front Royal, Virginia, who added that\u00a0he would support any candidate backed by current Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Looking toward the future\u00a0<\/p>\n

Leaves crunching underneath his feet, Kobie Dalton, 18, said he was going to vote for Earle-Sears, because he aligned with her on most issues, including his moral opposition to abortion. \u00a0<\/p>\n

But Dalton, from Radford, Virginia,\u00a0was more concerned about Kirk\u2019s legacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody, when it comes to politics is so divided,\u201d he said. While Kirk often embraced divisive rhetoric, Dalton said he admired that the activist \u201cwas very civil.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

For Youngkin, one of two speakers at the Turning Point event, the short-term impact of Kirk\u2019s death on GOP politics appeared far from the point. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Youngkin didn\u2019t\u00a0mention the upcoming Virginia election in his close-to-hour-long speech. He stood next to a hat and shirt of Kirk’s and encouraged attendees\u00a0to openly discuss their politics and faith \u2012 just as the 31-year-old activist had. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s easy for moments to be flashes in the pan. The hard part is to endure,\u201d Youngkin told the crowd. \u201cSet your sights on the long term, to do the work that doesn\u2019t have immediate satisfaction but impacts one year, five years, 10 years,\u201d he added. \u201cThat is the magic.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This year\u2019s Virginia governor\u2019s race will test whether outrage over Charlie Kirk’s death will galvanize Gen-Z conservatives to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":459660,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5311],"tags":[8521,6890,6898,6907,128883,78524,12059,12068,10957,16350,6897,6906,33,63705,84454,6889,714,51971,30637,30638,6584,5179,6591,5487,285,5486,2861,16346,5181,49,12060,978,659,8520,8529,18772,78051],"class_list":{"0":"post-459659","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"tag-abuse","9":"tag-biden","10":"tag-campaigns","11":"tag-campaigns-u0026-elections","12":"tag-charlie","13":"tag-charlie-kirk","14":"tag-colleges","15":"tag-colleges-u0026-universities","16":"tag-death","17":"tag-death-u0026-tragedy","18":"tag-democratic","19":"tag-democratic-party","20":"tag-elections","21":"tag-glenn","22":"tag-glenn-youngkin","23":"tag-joe","24":"tag-joe-biden","25":"tag-kirk","26":"tag-n4n-news","27":"tag-n4n-politics","28":"tag-negative","29":"tag-overall","30":"tag-overall-negative","31":"tag-party","32":"tag-politics","33":"tag-republican","34":"tag-republican-party","35":"tag-tragedy","36":"tag-u0026","37":"tag-united-states","38":"tag-universities","39":"tag-us","40":"tag-usa","41":"tag-violence","42":"tag-violence-u0026-abuse","43":"tag-virginia","44":"tag-youngkin"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=459659"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459659\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/459660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=459659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=459659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=459659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}