Charlie Kirkthe widow, Erika Kirk (née Frantzve), shares her thoughts on women and marriage in the middle Zohran Mamdanithe recent New York mayoral election.
Erika, 37, was asked about Mamdani, 34, during an on-stage interview at The New York Times‘ DealBook 2025 Summit on Wednesday December 3.
Interviewer Andrew Ross Sorkin noted that the New York City mayor-elect “has actually been successful in persuading younger voters,” as her late husband did with his conservative nonprofit Turning Point USA, however, “the complete opposite, if you will, of where someone like Charlie would have been.”
“You know, it’s so interesting because I lived in Manhattan for a while and I loved that city,” his response began.
She continued: “I’m going to talk about a female voter because a high percentage of her voters were women. I think there’s a trend, especially when you live in a city like Manhattan, where, again, you’re so career-oriented, and you almost look at government as a form of replacement for certain things even on a relational level, so you see things a little differently.”
Erika then urged women not to enter government before starting a family.
“What I don’t want is for young women in the city to look to the government as a solution to delay having a family or a marriage, because you’re relying on the government to support you instead of being united with your husband, where you can provide for your own needs and your husband can support you and you can all come together,” she said.
“I find it so ironic and so interesting that a high percentage of the people who voted for him were women,” Erika added of Mamdani, who defeated the former New York governor. Andrew Cuomo during the November 4 mayoral election.
Erika continued her late husband’s work with Turning Point USA, which advocates for young people to become politically active, taking over the leadership of the organization after Charlie’s death in September.
Erika, who shared two children with Charlie, recently spoke about the right-wing political pundit’s death in an interview with Megyn Kelly.
“We wanted to have four [children]” Erika told Kelly in November. “And I was praying to God that I was pregnant when he was murdered. … We both were, we were really excited about expanding our family.
Erika said having another child “would be the ultimate blessing from this catastrophe,” referring to Charlie’s fatal shooting at an event on the Utah Valley University campus in Orem, Utah.
Conservative commentator Charlie Kirk died at the age of 31 after being shot during an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, September 10. “It is with heavy hearts that we, the leadership team at Turning Point USA, write to inform you that early this afternoon, Charlie went to collect his eternal reward with Jesus Christ in heaven. » […]
“Now when I see young couples, I tell them, ‘Please don’t delay.’ Especially if you are a young woman, don’t delay. You can still have a career, you can still go back to work. You can never go back to having children,” Erika added.
Erika and her children celebrated their first Thanksgiving without Charlie on November 27. In a tribute on Instagram, she wrote: “We’ll save you a plate baby. Love you, @charliekirk1776 Happy Thanksgiving.”
“Charlie and I have always loved Thanksgiving because it brings us back to the simple but holy practice of gratitude,” Erika captioned a video of her walking through a room filled with gift boxes and condolence letters.
