Turning Point USA’s annual AmericaFest convention kicks off Thursday in downtown Phoenix.
Among other things, the conservative political group’s gathering will feature speeches from the right’s most prominent — and controversial — figures, including Tucker Carlson, Vice President J.D. Vance and Turning Point CEO Erika Kirk.
Erika is the widow of Charlie Kirk, Turning Point's co-founder who was murdered earlier this year, and was largely responsible for the group’s intense popularity among young conservatives.
AmericaFest will take place at the Phoenix Convention Center, and just down the road, at Majerle’s Sports Grill, a leftwing group will attempt to do some counter-programming.
The group is called National Ground Game, and they’re calling their event something we can’t say on the radio. Let’s just say it rhymes with “Un-stuck America.”
On Saturday night at Majerle’s, they’ll have popular lefty influencers doing live events designed to offer an alternative to AmericaFest. The event is part of a broader strategy to become, as National Ground Game founder Zee Cohen-Sanchez calls it “the Turning Point of the left.”
The Show spoke with Cohen–Sanchez about how she plans to engage the young voters Turning Point has been so effective at recruiting.
Full conversation
ZEE COHEN-SANCHEZ: What we found is that when we do have these conversations with kids from Turning Point, we're able to really get through to them because we are not the stuffy Democrats that tone-police people. They see us as kind of like one of them.
SAM DINGMAN: So, you know, let's say I'm a 18-, 19-year-old Turning Point affiliated college student. I'm walking into AmericaFest. I've got my suit and tie on. I'm here and I'm really sad about Charlie Kirk's death.
And I'm here to find out how Turning Point plans to, you know, continue advancing the worldview that I've signed on with. And somebody from the UNF America tour comes up to me. What's the strategy there? Like, how would you approach that conversation?
COHEN-SANCHEZ: So Charlie was a really interesting figure in this movement because while he was somebody obviously that supported Trump, right? And that has, you know, done more groundwork arguably than anybody for Donald Trump, shifting the youth vote 9 points to the right. He also, I think sort of had this like solo personality that people were attracted to.
So I, we don't really find a lot of these kids to be going there because they necessarily support Republican candidates. The main reason that we get from them in terms of why they're attending Turning Point events is because their parents, quote, unquote, want them to network.
DINGMAN: But so how do you engage that person? What do you look for as a source of connection or an entryway to that conversation?
COHEN-SANCHEZ: So if they tell us that they do support Donald Trump, then we will usually start to ask them why that is. And typically what we find is that they usually don't have a lot of answer to that. That's where we really start to sort of break apart the worldview a little bit. And this is obviously not something that happens in one conversation or overnight, but it's more so that we're looking to develop a longer-term relationship with them.
And that's what we found with a lot of the Turning Point kids is that we will go to these events and we'll start out those conversations. And sometimes they're not even about politics. I mean, sometimes it's just about like, what their ambitions are and all of those things. And then, you know, they come to our event and they say, "oh, they see that, you know, we're at a bar. We're not in, like, a stuffy, crappy venue where we have, you know, 18 hours of back-to-back speeches."
DINGMAN: So let me ask you, though, Zee, what about issues? Because one of the things that makes Turning Point very effective is that they ... seem to me to have this kind of purity culture almost from an issue standpoint.
You're either all in on things like anti-trans policy, strong borders, anti-woke cultural crusading in academia, or you're not. And one of the things that Turning Point has been very effective at is that if you step outside of their orthodoxy, they kind of come after you. Where does National Ground Games stand issue-wise?
COHEN-SANCHEZ: The people that we're looking for, not just MAGA people that are coming over, we're also looking for the people that have, that are apathetic, right? Like, half of this country doesn't vote at all. And what we're finding is that it is very clear that 2026 is the year of affordability.
DINGMAN: But I have to ask you, Zee, I mean, Turning Point is so laser-focused on college students and, increasingly, people in high school. Do you think affordability is what those potentially flippable voters care about?
'Cause I have to say, being at AmericaFest last year, There was so much very forceful messaging about the supposed attack on masculinity, about this idea of America having become weak and too feelings driven. These were not really economic issues that they were focusing on.
COHEN-SANCHEZ: Yeah, well, and I think a lot has changed since last year, right? I think that last year, I mean, definitely. And of course, we are going to be faced with the same issues again, right?
Like the trans issue. We've started to see this with Gavin Newsom, with Pete Buttigieg, with a lot of these larger politicians that are pushing back against this and being like, you know what? I think that we should have a more nuanced conversation about this. Like, it's not it's not super cut and dry. We don't think like all trans people should be in sports, for example.
But also what is even more important than the central message of affordability and trying to stay away from these more cultural issues like the trans issue and things like that, what I call distraction issues. We're really trying to steer away from this, like, academic type of talk is like what I call it. I think that there are some issues that we are simply like not going to win on and I think need to be like primarily ignored.
DINGMAN: But when it comes to something like trans issues, are you concerned that by not taking a stand, you are by default taking the administration's stand, which is actively anti-trans?
COHEN-SANCHEZ: No, I think that it really comes down to, and very much what Gavin Newsom and Pete Buttigieg's position is, is that we need to have a more nuanced conversation about what that looks like.
DINGMAN: I hear that, Zee, but you also did just say that nuanced academic conversations are the kind of thing that you're trying to avoid.
COHEN-SANCHEZ: And that's why we shouldn't talk, in my opinion, we shouldn't talk about it at all.
DINGMAN: Let me ask you a different question. A very significant thing that is part of Turning Point's effectiveness, I would argue, has been their ability to leverage faith. Charlie Kirk amassed a lot of his power by going to evangelical church services and giving what were essentially politically charged sermons.
And I think that is a big part of what draws some young people to Turning Point is it feels like you're joining a movement. It feels like a way of life.
COHEN-SANCHEZ: Again, I think that National Ground Game, what we're going to be more focused on is expanding the vote beyond the people that are currently voting. So what we're trying to do is expand to that other 50% of the country that is simply not voting at all.
DINGMAN: So if I'm hearing you right, the hope is that the thing that will kind of draw those people out is this idea of affordability?
COHEN-SANCHEZ: We think that that's going to be a central issue. Yeah.
DINGMAN: So I guess the other question here, Zee, is, I mean, as you alluded to, Charlie Kirk was a uniquely charismatic figure, and that was a big part of how Turning Point was able to establish itself.
Do you feel like your side here has a Charlie Kirk, needs a Charlie Kirk?
COHEN-SANCHEZ: I don't think we need one. Because we don't have — because there isn't one on the right.
DINGMAN: Do you feel that there is the need for some similarly magnetic presence to kind of draw those MAGA folks who may be disillusioned with their time on the right? What is the reason you see for them to explore the kinds of things that National Ground Game stands for?
COHEN-SANCHEZ: So I think that it's going to really depend, honestly, on how affected they are by this Trump administration. I mean, obviously, Amfest is like the busiest it's ever been, right? They've sold like 15,000 tickets. I think part of that is obviously the shock of Charlie Kirk's murder. But eventually that will die off. And then the question really becomes, what next?
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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.
