Watch the live stream: Johnson, Trump Jr., Erica Kirk and Vance speak at the Turning Point USA conference

PHOENIX (AP) — We’re three years away from the next presidential election, but Turning Point USA already knows it wants Vice President J.D. Vance as the Republican nominee. Erica Kirk, leader of the powerful conservative youth organization, endorsed him on the opening night of its annual AmericaFest convention, drawing cheers from the crowd.

Watch the event live via the video player above.

But the four-day meeting revealed more danger than promise for Vance or any other potential successor to President Donald Trump, and the apparent tensions portend the treacherous waters they will have to navigate in the years ahead. The “Make America Great Again” movement is divided as Republicans begin to think about a future without Trump, and there is no clear path to keeping his coalition together as different factions compete for influence.

“Who’s going to run it next?” asked commentator Tucker Carlson in his speech at the conference. “Who gets the machines when the president leaves the scene?”

Vance, who has not announced whether he will run for president, is Turning Point’s closing speaker on Sunday, appearing at the end of a lineup that includes U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Los Angeles, and Donald Trump Jr.

Turning Point supports Vance for president

Erika Kirk, who took over as leader of Turning Point after her husband, Charlie Kirk, was assassinated, said Thursday that the group wants Vance elected to the 48th seat in the best way possible. The next president will be the forty-eighth in the history of the United States.

Read more: Erika Kirk supports J.D. Vance’s potential 2028 presidential bid at the Turning Point USA conference

Turning Point is a major right-wing force, with a national volunteer network that can be especially useful in early primary states, when candidates rely on grassroots energy to build momentum.

The endorsement carried “at least a little weight” for 20-year-old Kiara Wagner, who traveled from Toms River, New Jersey, to attend the conference.

“If someone like Erica can support J.D. Vance, so can I,” Wagner said.

Vance was close to Charlie Kirk. After Kirk was assassinated on a college campus in Utah, the Vice President flew on Air Force One to collect Kirk’s remains and return them home to Arizona. The Vice President was assisted by uniformed service members in carrying the casket to the plane.

Post-Trump Republican Party?

The Republican Party’s identity has been intertwined with Trump’s for a decade. Now that he is constitutionally ineligible to run for re-election, the party is beginning to think about the future without him in power.

So far, it appears that settling this issue will require a lot of fighting among conservatives. “Turning Point” included discussions about anti-Semitism, Israel, and environmental regulations, not to mention rivalries between leading commentators.

Carlson said the idea of ​​a Republican “civil war” is “completely false.”

“There are people who are angry at J.D. Vance, and they are bringing up a lot of this in order to make sure he doesn’t get the nomination,” he said. Carlson describes Vance as “the only person” who supports “the basic idea of ​​the Trump coalition,” which Carlson said is “America first.”

Andrew Colvitt, a spokesman for the Turning Point Party, portrayed the disagreement as a healthy debate about the future of the movement, an uncomfortable but necessary process for finding consensus.

“We are not bee-minded communists. Let it happen,” he wrote on X.

Vance seems to have the advantage when it comes to Turning Point attendees.

“It has to be J.D. Vance because he was so great when it came to any question,” said Thomas Morales, a videographer from Los Angeles. “There is no other option,” he said.

Trump has not chosen a successor, though he has praised both Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, even suggesting they could make up a Republican ticket in the future. Rubio said he would support Vance.

When asked in August if Vance was the “heir apparent,” Trump said “most likely.”

“It’s too early to talk about it, but he’s definitely doing a great job and is probably the favorite at this stage,” he said.

Any talk about future campaigns is complicated by Trump’s occasional musings about seeking a third term.

“I’m not allowed to run,” he told reporters during a trip to Asia in October. “It’s too bad.”