California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday praised conservative activist Charlie Kirk for his ability to make inroads with younger men and suggested members of his own party do the same.
“I think my party has not invested as much energy as they should in this space,” Newsom remarked at Florin High School in Sacramento.
Newsom offered reflections shortly after announcing a statewide initiative to “support the well-being of young men”. He called for 10,000 men across the state to volunteer as mentors, coaches, and tutors in partnership with the California Volunteers division of his administration, citing rising suicide rates and stigma around mental health support.
“We have an epidemic of loneliness and so much of that is manifesting and metastasizing online in very profound and consequential ways and last week only underscored that further,” Newsom said, referring to Charlie Kirk’s death that took place less than a week ago.
A 22-year-old man from Utah was charged with the killing on Tuesday.
Newsom hosted Kirk on the inaugural episode of his podcast This is Gavin Newsom, which launched earlier this year. He told reporters he was “picking his brain” when it came to Kirk’s reach with younger voters to learn how Democrats could apply similar tactics.
“Why was Charlie my first guest? Because I recognized his influence not just in the last election and how many young men and boys heard the bell and answered the bell in terms of organizing on campuses and supporting the dialogue and the organizational principles that Charlie Kirk was supporting and advancing,” the governor said.
Newsom’s initiative on young men comes ahead of a widely anticipated run for the presidency and could signify a desire to tap into a demographic Democrats have struggled to reach in recent years.
Joel Cooper is part of this group. The 18-year-old student at Folsom Lake College is President of the local chapter for Turning Point USA, the organization Kirk founded as a young adult over a decade ago. Cooper attended a vigil for Kirk at Sacramento State last week.
“I’ve listened to Charlie and his podcasts since I was twelve. I’ve watched his videos, all of that, I love him,” Cooper said.
CapRadio’s Riley Palmer contributed to this report.
