Charlie Kirk

Family and gender: He opposed reproductive rights and same-sex marriage, promoting "traditional" gender roles. He argued that the acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community was a threat to conservative Christians. In 2025, his wife, Erika Kirk, was featured at a Turning Point USA event urging young women to prioritize marriage over careers. Separation of church and state: Kirk did not believe in a true separation of church and state. He promoted the Seven Mountain Mandate, a concept that specifies seven areas of society (including politics and education) where Christians should lead. "Wokeism": Kirk founded TPUSA Faith in 2021 to combat "wokeism from the American pulpit". Kirk viewed college campuses as a primary front in the culture war and strongly criticized what he saw as "Marxism" and "gender ideology" in higher education.  Campus activism: Kirk engaged in debates with students on college campuses, arguing against progressive concepts related to gender, race, and immigration. Professor Watchlist: After the 2016, he created a "Professor Watchlist" to compile the names of college professors he deemed to be on the "radical left". Freedom of speech: He was an advocate for freedom of speech and framed his campus events and debates as an example of promoting free and open dialogue.  Early in his career, Kirk primarily focused on fiscal conservatism, but he later shifted to embrace a more populist and culturally focused agenda.