Can Taylor Swift Sway The US Election Outcome?

Neve Dawson

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In a recent poll conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies, over 18 per cent of US voters have said they are ‘more likely’ to vote for an electoral candidate endorsed by Taylor Swift. 

With Donald Trump widely predicted to win the Republican nomination, pollsters predict a fierce two-horse race between the ex-president and Biden in this year’s US election.

Taylor Swift’s Speculated Role

The upcoming US elections will see roughly 41 million ‘Gen Z’ voters turn out to the polls — a generation profoundly impacted by celebrity culture, social media and everything in between.

According to Forbes, some 53 per cent of US adults proclaim themselves Swift fans, so how important can her influence be?

Taylor Swift is considered a major influence on popular culture and even “the economics of entire regions of the US,” according to communications consultant James Haggerty.

The fourteen-time Grammy winner has had an impact not only on political leanings but on voting numbers themselves.

In an Instagram story back in September 2023, Swift called for US citizens to use their Democratic rights and register to vote, causing a dramatic increase in users logging into designated registering websites within a single hour.

It seems where Taylor Swift speaks, her fans listen.

Despite being Times’ 2023 ‘Person of the Year‘, Swift mainly keeps her personal political beliefs to herself, never speaking directly in favour of the Democratic Party or Joe Biden.

However, in 2020 the singer vowed to remove Donald Trump from the Whitehouse, writing on X (formerly known as Twitter):

“After stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism your entire presidency, you have the nerve to feign moral superiority before threatening violence?

“‘When the looting starts the shooting starts’??? We will vote you out in November. @realdonaldtrump”

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After stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism your entire presidency, you have the nerve to feign moral superiority before threatening violence? ‘When the looting starts the shooting starts’??? We will vote you out in November. @realdonaldtrump

— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) May 29, 2020

Exclusive polling conducted for Newsweek by Redfield & Wilton Strategies found that 18 per cent of 1,500 interviewees say they’re “more likely” or “significantly more likely” to vote for a candidate endorsed by Swift.

17 per cent said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate supported by Swift, while 55 per cent would be neither more nor less likely to do so. Political correspondents have noted this will ‘bode badly’ for Democrat Biden.

Biden appears to be struggling to connect with younger voters due to his continued failure to address climate change as well as his support for Israel in the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict. 

Election experts have speculated that Biden’s re-election campaign is attempting to recruit Swift to boost polls.

A History Of Celebrity Influence

Celebrities, their lifestyles and opinions have always had a firm grip on fanbases and their subsequent actions. Whether that be emulating your favourite celeb’s hairstyle, fashion or even political opinions.

The expansion of social media has been cited as a key turning point in the visibility of ‘political star power’ within celebrity culture, although earlier forms of media such as television were known to have been used as early as Ronald Reagan’s Hollywood career.

More recent examples of celebrity ‘influence’ in politics occurred during the election campaign of ex-US President Barack Obama.

TV star Oprah Winfrey openly spoke in favour of Obama back in 2007, both endorsing the politician and joining his political campaign as one of Forbes’s most influential women.