Do Celebrity Endorsement Actually Affect Elections?

But what, exactly, is the impact of Swift (and celebrities like her) on the race—and can we really measure it? “It’s hard to imagine Swift’s or anyone’s celebrity endorsement would change the minds of voters who’ve already picked a candidate,” says Stephanie Burt, an English professor at Harvard University who teaches a class called Taylor Swift and Her World. “But she can remind low-engagement voters (especially Swifties, who tend to be young-ish, female, and white) to register and to vote, and most of those voters will probably support Kamala,” says Burt.

Even if Swift’s direct impact on individual voters can’t always be reliably measured, the celebrity ripple effect of her support for the Harris-Walz campaign is easy to track in an informal way: Stars like Reese Witherspoon, Selena Gomez, and Jennifer Aniston liked Swift’s Instagram endorsement, and it even prompted actor Aubrey Plaza to follow suit with her own “childless cat lady”-themed pro-Harris-Walz post. “Swift’s endorsement is encouraging other celebrities to speak out,” says fan engagement sociologist (and Taylor Swift specialist) Dr. Georgia Carroll, adding: “We saw multiple celebs on social media directly referencing her endorsement. Once the biggest celebrity in the world has spoken out, it opens the doors for others, creating an ongoing flow of attention.”

The youth vote has proved difficult to reliably motivate since former president Barack Obama’s election in 2008, but Swift’s ability to connect with newly eligible voters is one possible corrective. As strategist Ashley Spillane noted in an August report for Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, Gen Z and millennials spend an average of 180 minutes and 157 minutes daily on social media, respectively, and it is their primary source of news. Forty-five percent of self-proclaimed Swifties are millennials and another 11% are Gen Z; the singer’s fan base is a built-in treasure trove of exactly the voters that Democrats are hoping will turn out this November.

“Every little bit counts given the likely margins of this election,” says Burt, continuing: “If Swift reminds five low-political-engagement Swifties at Penn State Altoona to register and to vote, and four of them would not have voted otherwise, and four support Kamala and one supports Trump, that right there could decide the election.” At the end of the day, it’s nice to hear Swift celebrated for their potential to impact political participation among U.S. voters, not just for who they happen to be dating. (Although, don’t get me wrong, I always want to know what Taylor and Travis are up to. Women contain multitudes!)