There will be no Charlie Kirk highway in his home state of Arizona. The reason: politics.
Exactly whose politics is to blame has become a point of debate.
Kirk, the conservative activist known for his campus debates, was assassinated last year during an event at Utah Valley University. Republicans in Arizona, where Kirk's Turning Point USA organization is based, passed legislation attempting to add Kirk's name to Loop 202, a highway circling through the sprawling Phoenix area.
Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed it on Friday.
In a veto message to state lawmakers, Hobbs denounced political violence but suggested that Republicans had inappropriately injected politics into a decision rightly left to a state board that names historic highways.
“I will continue working toward solutions that bring people together, but this bill falls short of that standard by inserting politics into a function of government that should remain nonpartisan,” Hobbs wrote.
Republican state Senate President Warren Petersen, who sponsored the legislation, said it was Hobbs who practiced politics by breaking with “a long-standing Arizona tradition” of recognizing people who made an impact on society.
The veto “tells people that recognition now depends on political alignment, not contribution,” Petersen said in a statement. “That’s not how Arizona has ever approached these decisions, and it’s a disappointing shift for our state.”
Lawmakers in more than 20 states have introduced over five dozen bills seeking to honor Kirk, according to an Associated Press analysis using the bill-tracking software Plural. Many propose naming things after Kirk or creating an official day of remembrance. Others invoke Kirk's name for measures that would protect free speech rights on college campuses or encourage schools to teach about the role of Judeo-Christian values in American history.
Arizona and Florida were among the first states to give final approval to Kirk-inspired legislation.
Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has yet to act on a bill that would designate a road in Miami-Dade County as “Charlie Kirk Memorial Avenue" while also designating a road in Broward County as “President Donald J. Trump Boulevard.”
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The overall feeling of Turning Point USA’s annual AmericaFest conference in Phoenix three months after co-founder Charlie Kirk was assassinated at Utah Valley University was one of determination to carry out his legacy. -
Turning Point USA conference attendees in Phoenix say the organization is back stronger — and resonating with women — following co-founder Charlie Kirk’s assassination. -
The group is called National Ground Game, and they’re calling their event something we can’t say on the radio. -
Looking forward, Erika Kirk says Turning Point’s political arm will focus on keeping Congress in Republican hands and electing JD Vance as the 48th president in 2028. -
State Sen. Warren Petersen, Gilbert Republican and GOP candidate for attorney general, said Charlie Kirk should be publicly recognized by putting his name along a 78-mile stretch of Loop 202. -
Several cities and towns across the Valley will consider requests to officially memorialize conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was killed by a gunman last month. -
The memorial event honoring conservative activist Charlie Kirk was held at State Farm Stadium on Sept. 21, 2025. See KJZZ's coverage from Glendale. -
The Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority owns the stadium in Glendale. An authority spokesperson says event contracts, done by a separate stadium manager, are confidential.
