{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.hydesmith.senate.gov/ole-miss-jd-vance-and-erika-kirk-draw-crowd-10000-turning-point-usa-rally", "At Ole Miss, J.D. Vance and Erika Kirk draw crowd of 10,000 for Turning Point USA rally", "2025-10-30", "2025", "2025-10", "Republican", "Senate", "MS", "Cindy Hyde-Smith", "H001079", "www.hydesmith.senate.gov", "hydesmith", "https://www.hydesmith.senate.gov/newsroom", "scraper", "By Will Stribling\n\nOXFORD \u2014 Nearly 10,000 people packed the Sandy & John Black Pavilion at the University of Mississippi on Wednesday for a rally hosted by the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA. Vice President J.D. Vance headlined the event, stepping in as the main speaker following the assassination of founder Charlie Kirk last month.\n\nStudents were prioritized, leaving adults in the general admission line unsure if they\u2019d even make it inside. For Veronica, who traveled from Texas and attended Kirk\u2019s memorial service in Phoenix, just being part of the moment mattered.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m happy to sit out here in the cold and not get in because that means that every single student wanted to get in,\u201d Veronica said.\n\nFor students in line like Southern Miss freshman Clark Piercy, the size and energy of the crowd indicated a growing movement and provided a sense of belonging.\n\n\u201cIt honestly kind of does speak out that people are getting more involved politically,\u201d Piercy said. \u201cTo see this many people out here is very exciting for me.\u201d\n\nPiercy added that Kirk\u2019s assassination had hardened his political views and dedication to the Republican Party. He described seeing footage of the shooting on social media as traumatic and said it made him believe \u201cthere are people in our country that want to stop free speech.\u201d\n\nThe event also attracted many of Mississippi\u2019s Republican statewide officials, including Gov. Tate Reeves, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and Attorney General Lynn Fitch. U.S. Sens. Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith flew with Vice President Vance to attend.\n\nThe Ole Miss event is the only stop on TPUSA\u2019s \u201cThis Is the Turning Point Tour\u201d where Vance is scheduled to appear, and U.S. Rep. Michael Guest said that distinction shows \u201chow important Mississippi is to the conservative movement.\u201d\n\nAfter the rally began, speakers looked out onto a sea of red \u201cMake America Great Again\u201d caps and blended praise for conservative policies with calls for religious revival. Charlie Kirk\u2019s widow and Turning Point USA\u2019s new CEO, Erika Kirk, called on students to carry Turning Point\u2019s campus organizing work forward.\n\n\u201cBeing on campus right now for me is a spiritual reclaiming of territory,\u201d Kirk said.\n\nShe said Charlie believed that endeavor would shape America\u2019s future, and his assassination had laid the groundwork for greater success on that front. Kirk also called on students to honor her late husband by courageously defending their beliefs.\n\n\u201cI just want this to be the generation that says, we will not apologize for loving our country first,\u201d Kirk said. \u201cWe will not be silent about our faith. We will not back down when the world tells us to kneel because we bow only to the King of Kings.\u201d\n\nKirk also pointed to partnerships that aim to expand Turning Point-affiliated \u201cClub America\u201d chapters in high schools as opportunities to reach young people, citing recent support from the governors of Florida and Virginia.\n\nThose themes of faith and family were also present in Vice President J.D. Vance\u2019s speech, which he said was intentionally off-script. After leading the audience in a \u201cHotty Toddy\u201d chant, Vance reflected on his regret of not having children earlier in life and urged students to put their youthful energy toward building nuclear families.\n\n\u201cSo while you\u2019re young, have those babies if you\u2019re able to. That\u2019s something Charlie said all the time,\u201d Vance said.\n\nHe connected those personal reflections to policy, arguing that a secure border and stable family structure were intertwined with American prosperity.\n\n\u201cWhy do I care so much about having a secure border in the United States of America? It\u2019s because I believe that when you let in a flood of illegal immigration, it drives down the wages of young people and makes housing unaffordable,\u201d Vance said.\n\nIn the Q&A that followed, which Vance said was meant to carry on Kirk\u2019s tradition of direct student engagement, he said legal immigration should be reduced and defended President Donald Trump\u2019s deployment of National Guard troops to major cities led by Democrats.\n\nWhile the rally drew its large crowd, a smaller counter-event dubbed the Mississippi \u201cRise Up Town Hall\u201d was held nearby by University of Mississippi College Democrats and other liberal student groups.\n\nThe event\u2019s featured speakers included Democratic elected officials from other states, such as California Congressman Ro Khanna and Tennessee state Rep. Gloria Johnson.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:32:54Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.hydesmith.senate.gov/ole-miss-jd-vance-and-erika-kirk-draw-crowd-10000-turning-point-usa-rally"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9016250260174274, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}