Conservative leaders gather for AmericaFest ahead of 2026 midterms

Conservatives from across the country are expected to gather in Arizona on Thursday to celebrate the life and legacy of activist Charlie Kirk at Turning Point USA’s annual AmericaFest conference.

The four-day event at the Phoenix Convention Center brings together big names from the Make America Great Again and conservative movements, including Vice President JD Vance, who is expected to be the event’s keynote speaker on Sunday, and Erika Kirk, who will headline the event.

The conference comes as the organization grapples with the September assassination of Kirk, who was shot and killed during a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.

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Charlie Kirk, president and founder of Turning Point USA, speaks during AmericaFest 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona on December 22, 2024. (Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images)

“At AmericaFest 2025, we come together to honor Charlie’s legacy – to continue the mission he started and to celebrate the country he loved,” Turning Point USA wrote.

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Turning Point USA Executive Director Charlie Kirk speaks at AmericaFest on December 22, 2024, in Phoenix, Arizona. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

The event – ​​billed as a “powerful celebration of faith, freedom and the legacy of founder Charlie Kirk” – offers students across the country the opportunity to hear from some of the nation’s greatest conservative leaders, while meeting with more than 100 organizations and receiving activism training for the next generation of leaders.

AmericaFest is expected to attract more than 30,000 attendees, with organizers revealing this year is expected to see the largest turnout ever. It also comes ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, whose organizers are seeking to energize a new population of young voters in hopes of strengthening the conservative base before a new group of students head to the polls next year.

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Then President-elect Donald Trump speaks at AmericaFest in Phoenix, Arizona on December 22, 2024. (Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images)

“Charlie changed the world not only by speaking, but by listening and pointing a lost generation to faith and the eternal hope, which is in Christ,” Riley Gaines said on “Fox & Friends” Thursday morning.

Attendees can also expect to hear from several other conservative heavyweights at the conference, including Donald Trump Jr., House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, as TurningPoint USA seeks to rebuild after the tragic death of its founder while remaining true to its roots of facilitating conversations across the political aisle.

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“You have to counter bad ideas with good ideas,” Erika Kirk told “Fox & Friends,” adding, “You have to have that debate and that dialogue.”

Tessa Hoyos of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.