Gov. Ron DeSantis is making sure nobody forgets what happened to Charlie Kirk this year.
Now he’s turning that tragedy into action.
And Ron DeSantis will honor Charlie Kirk’s legacy by bringing Turning Point USA to every Florida high school.
Florida launches Charlie Kirk Prize and statewide TPUSA expansion
Gov. DeSantis traveled to New College of Florida Monday to announce the state’s Civics and Debate Initiative would rename its top prize after Charlie Kirk.
The Charlie Kirk Prize will award scholarships ranging from $10,000 for quarterfinalists to $50,000 for winners in April 2026.
But DeSantis didn’t stop there.
He announced Florida is partnering with Turning Point USA to ensure Kirk’s organization can establish chapters in every high school across the state.
“We want to make sure that all high schools in Florida, anybody in a high school that wants to start a state Club America chapter will be able to do so,” DeSantis stated. “There shouldn’t be any impediments to that, and certainly no discrimination. We’re not going to allow that.”¹
DeSantis described Kirk as someone who inspired conservatives by “going into the belly of the beast” to bring conservative ideas to liberal college campuses before his September assassination at Utah Valley University.
Governor Ron DeSantis just revealed that he will be naming the state speech and debate prize the “Charlie Kirk Prize” and the winner of that scholarship will win $50k.
"We are going to be naming the prize for the winner of the speech and debate in honor of Charlie Kirk. So… pic.twitter.com/CIqOg13p0a
— KᗴᒪᒪᗴY ✰ (@Patriotmom717) October 27, 2025
The Governor’s announcement comes weeks after a Suwannee County high school briefly resisted allowing a student to start a TPUSA chapter before reversing course.
That kind of administrative roadblock won’t happen again under DeSantis’s watch.
DeSantis puts schools on notice about blocking conservative groups
The partnership between Florida and Turning Point USA creates a clear pathway for students who want to start chapters.
And DeSantis made it crystal clear that administrators who try to stop them will face consequences.
“We’re not going to tolerate any administrators or school districts who are trying to put the kibosh on it just because they represent ideas that they may not like,” DeSantis warned.²
The message is unmistakable: Florida schools work for parents and students, not left-wing administrators uncomfortable with conservative views.
Kirk built Turning Point USA into the largest conservative youth organization in America by encouraging young people to engage in political debate on hostile campuses.
His assassination at age 31 shocked the nation and sparked President Trump’s expanded efforts to combat political violence.
Now DeSantis is ensuring Kirk’s mission continues throughout Florida’s education system.
🚨 BREAKING: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis reveals he's naming the official state "SPEECH AND DEBATE" prize the "CHARLIE KIRK PRIZE," and the winner will receive a $50K scholarship!👏
"We are going to be naming the prize for the winner of the speech and debate in honor of… pic.twitter.com/oTJuDaOHU2
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 27, 2025
The Governor is betting that exposing high school students to conservative ideas early will counter the left-wing indoctrination many face in college.
By combining scholarship incentives through the Charlie Kirk Prize with guaranteed access for TPUSA chapters, Florida is creating infrastructure for the next generation of conservative activists.
Kirk proved young people respond to bold conservative messaging when it’s delivered with energy and conviction.
He built Turning Point USA from scratch at age 18 into a movement with presence on over 3,500 campuses nationwide.
Kirk’s debate skills and fearless willingness to engage hostile audiences made him a hero to young conservatives who felt isolated on liberal campuses.
His assassination while speaking at a university was meant to intimidate conservatives into silence.
DeSantis is making sure it has the opposite effect.
The Governor is taking Kirk’s model and scaling it across Florida’s entire high school system, ensuring the next generation gets exposed to conservative principles before they face the left-wing indoctrination machine in college.
The Charlie Kirk Prize creates financial incentives for students to develop the debate skills Kirk mastered.
The TPUSA partnership gives them organizational infrastructure to practice those skills in a supportive environment.
And the state’s explicit protection against administrative interference means no bureaucrat can shut them down for having the wrong politics.
For students interested in politics, debate, and conservative principles, Florida just became the best state in the nation to attend high school.
And for administrators tempted to block conservative student groups, the message from Tallahassee couldn’t be clearer: try it and find out what happens.
¹ A.G. Gancarski, “Gov. DeSantis announces partnership with Turning Point USA,” Florida Politics, October 27, 2025.
² Ibid.
