COLUMBIA — John McGrath is still in shock.

Five years ago, he met Charlie Kirk at the Conservative Political Action Conference. At the time, McGrath was just another cadet at The Citadel, just another face in the crowd, and just another young conservative trying to figure out how to get involved.

Now, he’s another South Carolina Republican in mourning.

“I feel like I lost a family member,” the 27-year-old chairman of the Berkeley County Republican Party said. “If there's a funeral, I'm there. I'll fly to Arizona. I'll fly to D.C. I just have to be there.”

For McGrath and an entire generation, Kirk was more than an online influencer or podcaster. He was a rock star for the conservative movement, a slicker and cooler Rush Limbaugh for a new era.

He founded the organization Turning Point

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