Taylor Swift is back in the news cycle, but it’s not about her record-setting Eras Tour or her shiny new beau on the Kansas City Chiefs. This time, Swift’s potential impact on the 2024 election is in focus and prompting the question: What sort of influence will one of the world’s top influencers have?
A new Newsweek poll shows 18% of voters said they’re more likely to vote for the presidential candidate Swift endorses. On the other hand, 17% of voters said they are less likely to vote for whoever Swift endorses. The majority, 55%, said their vote won’t depend on the superstar’s endorsement.
While the poll indicates there’s not much of a “Swiftie” advantage, she does have a pull with Gen-Z and millennial voters.
Of those polled, 30% of voters under 35 said they would vote for who Swift says she is voting for.
While there’s speculation over a Swift endorsement, she hasn’t endorsed anyone yet. However, a history of Swift’s political stances indicates if she does offer her support, she would likely direct her Swiftie army to vote for the Democratic candidate.
Swift’s endorsement is something President Joe Biden’s campaign is hoping for, according to a New York Times report. Top aides for the Biden camp said they’re looking at social media influencers to endorse Biden.
While Swift doesn’t exactly have a reputation for being political, she has advocated for Democrats in Nashville elections and voiced her opinion in past presidential races.
In 2018, she endorsed several Democratic candidates in Tennessee, including former Gov. Phil Bredesen for U.S. Senate and Jim Cooper for the House. Cooper won his seat but Bredesen lost his race to Marsha Blackburn.
Swift also endorsed a Biden-Harris ticket in the 2020 presidential election by posting a photo on X, which was Twitter at the time.
There are actual numbers behind Swift’s influence, especially when she pushes her supporters to register to vote. Swift has made several of these calls online and they have reeled in big numbers.
Last year, the singer called on her fans via Instagram on National Register to Vote Day and linked to Vote.org in her post.
“It’s Election Day! If you are registered to vote in Colorado, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas or Virginia, it’s time to use your voice,” Swift wrote.
The website averaged 13,000 new users every half hour after her post went live. More than 35,000 people registered following her post.
A similar call-to-action in 2019 garnered even larger numbers.
Within 24 hours of asking fans to register, 65,000 people signed up, according to Vote.org. That one day outperformed the organization’s total registration for the previous month.
Knowing Swift can attract these kinds of numbers while her endorsements favor Democrats has some Republicans sporting a new conspiracy theory about the upcoming Super Bowl.
Some users on X have predicted Swift’s endorsement could come during the Super Bowl alongside Travis Kelce, her boyfriend who is playing in the game.
Certain users are even calling the game “rigged,” claiming it’s meant to go in the Chief’s favor in order to boost Swift’s platform ahead of her pledge to Biden. However, Swift’s influence over the Swiftie army has proven it doesn’t exactly need a boost from her NFL boyfriend.
Nevertheless, according to Newsweek’s poll, the Swiftie base is opting to largely is leave entertainment out of their political preferences.
