Celebrity endorsements help candidates, but could Taylor Swift’s move the needle for Kamala Harris?

Celebrities have a long history of entering the political space to endorse candidates, specifically in high-interest races, and this presidential election is no different. Last night, following the presidential debate, Taylor Swift - arguably the biggest celebrity in the world - came out in support of Kamala Harris. Virginia Tech political communication experts Megan Duncan and Cayce Myers explain why this could be a big boost for the Harris campaign and potentially move the needle.

“A sizable portion of the country had been speculating and waiting to see what Taylor Swift would do,” Duncan said. “Last night, they got their answer in a statement that not only endorsed the Harris/Walz campaign but also included a message of voter education. Taylor Swift wanted to make her position clear after the Trump campaign used her image and likeness to suggest her endorsement without her consent.”

Myers said that Swift’s endorsement is different in some ways than a typical endorsement.

“First, she has an enormous fan base that follows her on social media. Second, in her endorsement post, she specifically mentions talking points about women's right to choose and IVF, which have become a major voting issue that favors Democrats. Swift's use of her social media platform to amplify these issues has the potential to raise awareness among younger voters who might be paying less attention to the presidential election.”

Whether it will have a big impact on the election remains to be seen but Myers and Duncan said this could get a certain group of voters Harris needs to the polls.

“Swift’s platform is so large and it reaches a younger audience, which tends to be a less active voting demographic. So this may encourage Gen Z fans to volunteer and vote,” Myers said.

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

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. 

About Myers  

Cayce Myers is the director of graduate studies at the School of Communication in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. He specializes in media history, political communication, and laws that affect public relations practice. Read his full bio here.

Interview

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