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Lifestyle The New Sober Boom Getting Hooked on Quitting

Getting Hooked on Quitting

Education Liberal Arts Cuts Are Dangerous Is College Necessary?

Liberal Arts Cuts Are Dangerous

Is College Necessary?

Finance Dying Parents Costing Millennials Dear Gen Z Investing In Le Creuset

Dying Parents Costing Millennials Dear

Gen Z Investing In Le Creuset

Crypto Investing SEC vs Celebrity Crypto Promoters ‘Dark’ Personalities Drawn to BTC

Investing SEC vs Celebrity Crypto Promoters ‘Dark’ Personalities Drawn to BTC

SEC vs Celebrity Crypto Promoters

‘Dark’ Personalities Drawn to BTC

Reviews Lifestyle The New Sober Boom Getting Hooked on Quitting Education Liberal Arts Cuts Are Dangerous Is College Necessary? Finance Dying Parents Costing Millennials Dear Gen Z Investing In Le Creuset Crypto Investing SEC vs Celebrity Crypto Promoters ‘Dark’ Personalities Drawn to BTC

Lifestyle The New Sober Boom Getting Hooked on Quitting

Getting Hooked on Quitting

Education Liberal Arts Cuts Are Dangerous Is College Necessary?

Liberal Arts Cuts Are Dangerous

Is College Necessary?

Finance Dying Parents Costing Millennials Dear Gen Z Investing In Le Creuset

Dying Parents Costing Millennials Dear

Gen Z Investing In Le Creuset

Crypto Investing SEC vs Celebrity Crypto Promoters ‘Dark’ Personalities Drawn to BTC

Investing SEC vs Celebrity Crypto Promoters ‘Dark’ Personalities Drawn to BTC

SEC vs Celebrity Crypto Promoters

‘Dark’ Personalities Drawn to BTC

These women don’t trust politicians. They do trust Candace Owens

Millions of people tune in to the conservative commentator each week. Here's why they trust her

Published August 26, 2026 6:00AM (EDT)

This story was originally published by The 19th.

This story was originally reported by Mariel Padilla of The 19th. Meet Mariel and read more of their reporting on gender, politics and policy.

In 2016, Candace Owens emerged as a leading conservative voice, the rare Black woman backing then-candidate Donald Trump. 

In 2017, she was hired by Turning Point USA, a conservative nonprofit co-founded by Charlie Kirk.

In 2020, she announced that she’d be joining The Daily Wire, a right-wing media network. Her talk show, “Candace” launched in 2021 as her influence continued to grow as an author, political and cultural commentator, leading conservative personality and the co-founder of the Blexit Foundation, a conservative nonprofit that encouraged Black Americans to leave the Democratic Party. She criticized feminism, COVID vaccines and the concept of structural racism.

But then in 2024, The Daily Wire announced it had severed ties with Owens. She had been critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza and the United State’s financial and military support, a point of tension with Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro, and had faced backlash for interacting with and promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories on social media. She went solo, posting content on YouTube and social media platforms. 

Then her friend Charlie Kirk was killed on September 10, 2025. Since then, Owens has focused most of her content on questioning official accounts of Kirk’s assassination, often vilifying Charlie’s widow, Erika Kirk, and placing blame on Israel — infuriating some conservatives while also attracting a new following online. Between January 2025 and March 2026, Owens grew her platforms by 80 percent, according to a Media Matters report, gaining about 10.9 million followers across YouTube, Instagram, Spotify, Facebook and TikTok and generating roughly 805 million YouTube views. 

Now, Owens has more than 35 million subscribers and followers across platforms and a podcast that is frequently ranked in the country’s top 20.

The 19th spoke to half a dozen fans or avid listeners of Owens — though most were unwilling to speak publicly about their opinions for fear of criticism, condemnation or even violence. In general, her listeners insisted that they’re just asking questions. Their Christianity is core to how they see themselves — and they see that reflected in Owens, who converted to Roman Catholicism in 2024. To them, Owens is tenacious, entertaining, earnest and sincere — a voice they trust in a dishonest and chaotic media landscape. 

Experts say that her popularity in this moment highlights the changing nature of the Republican Party and exposes what Americans are craving in their leadership. The 19th spoke to women........

© Salon