Written By: Elise Fortuna
Taylor Swift has been relatively quiet about her political views until 2018, when she endorsed Phil Bredesen for the Senate and Jim Cooper for the House of Representatives in her home state Tennesse; this post accumulated over 2.2 million likes on instagram. Taylor spoke against senator Marsha Blackburn’s views in the 2018 midterm elections, and has always stood for more left-wing views regarding LGBTQ+ safety, gun control, and women’s rights. This process was revealed more in depth in Taylor’s 2020 release of her documentary Miss Americana, which showed a conversation between Taylor and her father, Scott Kingsly Swift. He expressed concerns for her safety after making a public political statement. It is clear this conversation was one Taylor was passionate about, saying, “I don’t care if they write that, I’m sad that I didn’t two years ago,” talking about how she doesn’t care if news reports were to come out saying she doesn’t like Trump.
Although this endorsement alone was unsuccessful in swaying the results of the election–Marsha Blackburn still won–there was still a vast jump in youth voter registration following Taylor’s encouragement to vote. Especially in 2023, Vote.org reported a 22.5% increase in voter registration among young people after Taylor encouraged voters to register.
On Sept. 10th, 2024, just moments after the presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, Taylor Swift took to Instagram to publicly endorse Democrat Kamala Harris. This post has reached 11.2 million views on Instagram as of September 24th, 2024. She signed off this post as “childless cat lady” to mock Trump’s running mate JD Vance, who had previously said, “We’ve allowed ourselves to be dominated by childless sociopaths.” This clapback was aggressive compared to usual celebrity endorsements, especially ones made by Taylor. In the post, she encourages viewers to vote, stating: “Your research is all yours to do, and the choice is yours to make.” After Taylor shared the voting link, the voter registration website reportedly received around 300,000 more visits than its usual average of 40,000 per day.
Pennsylvania is considered a “make or break swing state” in the election, meaning that the majority vote for either democrat or republican can go either way, making it crucial for the outcome of the election.. Just during one of two nights of Taylor’s Eras Tour in Pittsburgh back in June, the stadium hosted 73,117 people, with an estimated 200,000 attending throughout the three nights she spent in Philadelphia for her tour in May. Considering Taylor’s significant increase in support and followers since 2018, it will be interesting to see if her public endorsement will sway voter decisions. Since Taylor’s media platform is so large, she could effectively spread Kamala Harris’ campaign message, especially when utilizing a platform like Instagram where demographics are young and may not gravitate towards traditional news.
Overall, whether you are a fan of Taylor or not, it is important to remember that your vote matters and the research and choice you make is yours! It’s okay to listen and look up to celebrities, but make sure to also uphold your own opinions, and let your voice be heard.