Celebrity endorsements expand candidates’ reach, expert explains how

Actresses Kerry Washington and Mindy Kaling, hosts of the Democratic National Convention, have made their support for Vice President Kamala Harris clear. Rapper Megan Thee Stallion performed at the rally that launched Harris’ campaign for president, and Lil Jon made a surprise DNC appearance Tuesday. On the Republican side, singers Kid Rock and Jason Aldean and wrestler Hulk Hogan have endorsed former President Donald Trump.  

“Celebrity endorsements are one category of endorsements that evidence and history suggest work to get votes and donations,” said Virginia Tech communication professor Megan Duncan, discussing what advantages the support of celebrities can provide. “Celebrity endorsements are of course common in advertising merchandise, and they can be a useful tool for politicians’ campaigns, too.” 

 “Celebrity endorsements work best on getting people who are disengaged from the political process to pay attention, effectively widening the audience,” said Duncan. “They’re most effective at getting people enthusiastic about voting for a candidate rather than talking specific policies — with the exception of people who have a personal connection that increases their expertise in an area.” 

 “They’re also quite effective at getting people to donate to political campaigns and causes, although generally they are more effective on younger rather than older voters,” Duncan said. 

 “A strategic celebrity endorsement would be one that connects to an audience that would generally agree with the campaign’s policies but isn’t likely to show up at the polls without some encouragement,” Duncan said. “For those audiences, a celebrity can be a reason to get excited for a candidate and a motivation to get involved. Our connection with celebrities is usually an emotional one rather than a policy one — and a celebrity can help transfer that emotion to a political campaign.” 

 About Duncan  
Megan Duncan is an associate professor in the School of Communication at Virginia Tech. Her research focuses on how partisans judge the credibility of and engage with the news. Using survey-embedded experiments, surveys, and other quantitative methods, she’s interested in knowing more about audiences, their perceptions of the news, how they form opinions, and how to use this knowledge to make democracy stronger. 

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