Focus at Four: Do celebrities influence election outcomes?

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – Last month, questions started to spark on social media about President Joe Biden vying for the endorsement of one of the most influential people in the music industry, Taylor Swift.

Former President Donald Trump commented on the rumor in a social media post on his platform, Truth Social, that there is “no way” that would happen.

The singer previously endorsed Biden in the 2020 presidential election.

Daron Shaw, a professor in the Department of Government at the University of Texas, said in recent research, celebrity endorsements don’t have a lot of sway.

“These endorsements haven’t made a ton of difference, certainly not in partisan contests between Republicans and Democrats. There’s a little bit of evidence by Kathleen Jamieson at the University of Pennsylvania that they seem to have more of an influence in primaries,” he said.

With a background in public opinion and having previously been a strategist for elections in the late 90s and early 2000s, celebrity endorsements are something that candidates typically put a lot of thought into.

“These celebrities essentially become surrogates for the campaign. And the campaign has to identify them and then arrange for appearances, provide a media briefing. They’re responsible for them. It’s an enormous task,” he said.

Shaw also said though, that people like Swift who have an enormous following, are part of the reason they have an allure to presidential hopefuls. But, controversial characters would cause a campaign to have to shift away.

“There is a little bit of a tango between controversial figures and the campaign, which is not just the vote that you’re interested in when it comes to a presidential campaign. You’re interested in driving media, in driving volunteers, and you’re interested in driving contributions,” he said.

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