Sen. Joni Ernst, center, is flanked by Republicans including Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., right. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
"[Kirk was] really grounded and centered in speaking truth. So they appreciated that. They followed him on Instagram and different platforms."
Ernst said she and her family were also drawn to Kirk by his lack of apprehension to civilly debate anyone – and led them to be comfortable discussing similar topics with friends and coworkers.
"Unfortunately, the tragedy is as we thought it would be, because she saw it unfold with all the postings that were out there.
"The reassurance that I have to her and her husband are that his voice will continue to be out there and folks like her, they'll amplify it, too. So his mission will live on."
Ernst’s DOGE work, simultaneously popularized by Elon Musk, helped bring young people into the conservative fold.
CELEBRATORY, DISMISSIVE REACTIONS TO CHARLIE KIRK’S DEATH PUTTING EDUCATORS UNDER SCRUTINY
The lawmaker noted she had been working on DOGE-type work before the term even came into being. After her first election to the Senate, Ernst put out a statement pledging to make Washington "squeal" – in terms of slashing so-called pork-barrel spending.
"Prior to that, I was a county auditor and then in the state Senate. I've always been engaged in oversight of budgets, but coming into the senate, I have my ‘Squeal’ work. It really didn't take off until we had [Musk] and President Trump really promoting DOGE. And Charlie Kirk was the same," she said.
Prior to Kirk, the late radio host Rush Limbaugh inspired a generation of so-called "Rush Babies" in the 1980s and 1990s — young conservatives who regularly tuned into his AM talk show and credited him with shaping their early political views.
"[Rush Babies] simply illustrate how minds are shaped, opinions are validated, and sometimes how long it can take," Limbaugh said in 2006, expressing sentiments that echoed what has been said of Kirk:
"I have always felt confident that what’s being built here is going to last a long, long time. You might lose an election here and there, obviously, but these kinds of roots, they’re deep, and they’re going to get even deeper."
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While comparisons have been drawn between Limbaugh’s political magnetism and that of newer faces like Kirk, Ernst said the latter connected even more with young conservatives than the late commentator did.
"I love Rush, and no offense to Rush, but I think Charlie was even more so," she said.
"He was really capturing that next generation and going to where they were -- not just being on the radio or broadcast -- but actually going out and meeting face-to-face with people that maybe saw very differently than he did, and being willing to take those slings and arrows and most literally on that final day."
"I think it's hard for young people to communicate face-to-face, as we saw in many of his debates," she added, citing how some critics had a difficult time debating him because they were often busy on their phones or were not used to connecting person-to-person.
"I would say he's even more so than Rush. And it's just so unfortunate and tragic that his life was cut so short."
Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.
He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.
Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.
Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/charlie-kirk-invigorated-next-generation-conservatives-like-my-own-family-top-senator-says