Backfired: Pop Star Taylor Swift’s Endorsement of Kamala Harris May Have Turned Voters Away, New Poll Suggests
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Backfired: Pop Star Taylor Swift’s Endorsement of Kamala Harris May Have Turned Voters Away, New Poll Suggests

Credit: Photo by SAUL LOEBANDRE DIAS NOBRE/AFP via Getty Images

Taylor Swift’s high-profile endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris has stirred conversation, but recent polling suggests it may not be having the desired political impact of helping Harris beat former President Donald Trump. According to a new poll from YouGov, only 8% of voters said that Swift’s endorsement made them “somewhat” or “much more likely” to vote for Harris. However, the same poll found that 20% of respondents said they would be less likely to support Harris after the pop star’s endorsement.

The poll, conducted on September 11 and 12, followed Swift’s public endorsement of Harris in the wake of the Trump-Harris TV debate. Immediately after the debate, Swift posted to her 284 million Instagram followers: “I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them.” Her post, which garnered over 10.4 million likes, also included a call to action for her followers to register to vote.

However, Swift’s endorsement did have an immediate effect on voter engagement. According to reports, the vote.gov website received over 405,000 visitors within 24 hours of Swift sharing a custom link with her followers. Despite this surge in engagement, Swift’s political support for Harris produced mixed results among the broader electorate.

The Telegraph writes Celebrity endorsements have a long history in American politics, often with varied results. A 2008 study from Northwestern University found that Oprah Winfrey’s endorsement of Barack Obama contributed significantly to his presidential campaign, adding an estimated one million votes. However, not all celebrity endorsements have had such clear outcomes. A 2010 report from North Carolina State University noted that endorsements by high-profile stars like George Clooney and Angelina Jolie failed to significantly move the political needle.

Margaretha Bentley, a professor at Arizona State University who studies the social influence of celebrities like Swift, has expressed doubts about how much of an impact the pop singer’s endorsement will have. Earlier this year, she surveyed her students to gauge whether Swift’s political support would matter to them. Responses were mixed, with some students stating they would follow Swift’s lead, while others said they would use the endorsement as a reason to research more.

This uncertainty is mirrored in the poll results, with 66% of respondents stating that a celebrity endorsement—like Swift’s—would make no difference in how they plan to vote in the upcoming election. Additionally, 40% of respondents said they watched the debate in its entirety, and 21% said they watched parts of it.