On September 10th, minutes after the end of the first presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, pop star Taylor Swift made an Instagram post announcing that she will be voting for the Harris-Walz ticket, stating, “I think [Harris] is a steady-handed, gifted leader… I’ve done my research, and I’ve made my choice. Your research is all yours to do, and the choice is yours to make.” She encouraged her followers to register to vote, and posted a link to the registration website. Within the 24 hours of Swift’s Instagram story going up, 405,999 people followed the Vote.gov link she provided, an incredible number compared to the site’s daily average of 30,000 visits in early September, according to The New York Times.
These numbers may sound promising for Harris, but they do not guarantee her success. For starters, it is important to recognize that much of Swift’s fanbase — female, young, largely liberal — was likely planning to vote blue anyway, or are not old enough to do so. Furthermore, Hillary Clinton achieved the endorsement of many celebrities, including Beyoncé, Jay-Z, LeBron James, Kendall Jenner, and George Clooney during the 2016 election cycle, only to lose to Donald Trump (winning the popular vote, however). Additionally, studies conducted by Miami University in Ohio and California State Long Beach found that celebrity endorsements tend to have a stronger influence in primary elections, when candidates are more similar and voters are less invested, and therefore more easily swayed.
But Harris’ campaign is no typical campaign, and this is no typical race. Harris is still relatively unknown, so a trusted celebrity endorsement could have a sizable impact. Political scientist and head of the Centre of U.S. Politics at University College London, stated, “Taylor Swift is no ordinary celebrity. She has the power to move national economies with her tours, so it’s hard to say that her endorsement of Harris won’t have an impact.” And, regardless of endorsement, Swift’s encouragement of her followers simply to commit to the act of voting could have a serious impact on the election, especially when, as mentioned above, her fanbase is likely to lean towards Harris in the first place.
Ultimately, it is difficult to measure the magnitude of influence Swift’s endorsement will have this early on, but it will be fascinating to see the effects play out in the next few months. Her endorsement is the second time in a row that she has endorsed the Democratic candidate in a presidential election, having endorsed Joe Biden during the 2020 election cycle. Although many many disagree with her endorsement, it is promising to see so many more people register to vote — as voting is one of the most important acts someone can execute in this country, and will only strengthen our democracy.
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Taylor Swift Endorsed Kamala Harris. Does It Matter?
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