John-John Williams IV
One superhero actress assembled celebrity “nerds” to rally around presidential candidate Kamala Harris. Another heartthrob actor stumped for Angela Alsobrooks, who is running for U.S. Senate. And a fashion designer created a purple-hue pantsuit that Oprah wore as she fired up voters for Harris at the Democratic National Convention.
Big stars like Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Elon Musk and Kanye West have dominated the coverage of celebrities weighing in this election cycle. But there have been plenty of household names with Maryland ties who have also entered the political fray.
Candidates across the spectrum use celebrities every election season to attract voters and highlight or draw attention to an issue, political analysts say.
But while these endorsements may work at attracting people not typically involved in the political process, how much they may sway elections is not always clear. And not all celebrities carry the same weight. Take Oprah and Beyoncé, for example.
“Oprah, she transcends. She’s an across-the-board figure that people like and trust,” said Mileah Kromer, director of the UMBC Institute of Politics. “There’s famous and there is Beyoncé famous. There are certain people who reach the stratosphere, and they are different than others.”
The impact of a celebrity endorsement depends more on the voter than the popularity of the celebrity, says Malcolm Drewery, associate professor of sociology and anthropology at Morgan State University.
Factors like the education level of the voter and how familiar they are with the issues can impact celebrity influence, Drewery said, adding that causes and issues have traditionally been where celebrities can be most influential. In some cases the popularity of a celebrity could sway opinions, he said.
“If Beyoncé says it, maybe they would pay more attention to it,” Drewery said.
Others might be turned off by a celebrity who seems to suddenly be weighing in on an issue. That’s where a local celebrity might have more sway than a big name.
“If that daytime actress has been talking about a particular cause and has been advocating people to do things — that does carry more weight than someone just jumping in. A lot of people take the mindset of ‘where were you when this happened?’ ” Drewery said.
The average voter might be more familiar with a particular celebrity than a politician’s stance on policies.
“More people probably know that Taylor Swift is dating Travis Kelce than the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,” Kromer said. “I wish it was the other way, but what are you going to do? People like what they like.”
Some celebrities have faced backlash for expressing political views. Jane Fonda was blacklisted for her anti-Vietnam War stance; Lebron James and other Black athletes were told to “shut up and dribble” during the Black Lives Matter movement, and Colin Kaepernick became a polarized figure after taking a knee during the national anthem to protest police brutality, Kromer notes.
Others have had success, Drewery says, mentioning the celebrities in the ’80s involved in the world hunger movement and who protested South African apartheid.
We’ve combed social media profiles, television appearances and interviews in other publications to tell you how celebrities with Maryland ties have weighed in this election cycle.
Wanda Sykes
The actress and comedian, who grew up in Gambrills, told “The View” on Sept. 26, 2024 why she was supporting Harris’ presidential bid. She’s also a member of Harris’ sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha.
Bishme Cromartie
The “Project Runway All Stars” winner and Baltimore native confirmed his support for Harris in a recent Baltimore Banner interview. He went as far as saying he wants to design clothes for Harris, whom he refers to as “President Harris.”
Maggie Rogers
The singer-songwriter joined Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, on the campaign trail in the battleground state of Michigan. There, the Easton-native performed renditions of five of her songs, opening with “Love You For a Long Time. She closed with “Different Kind of World.”
Christian Siriano
When Harris was endorsed in July by President Joe Biden to be his successor, the designer from Annapolis took to social media and gushed about Harris. “What an honor to create suits for you @kamalaharris and I can’t wait to do it again!” he wrote with a heart emoji and the hashtag #kamalaharris.
Siriano, a favorite of Democratic politicians, designed a custom business wear ensemble — a Bordeaux-colored fitted blazer and a matching pair of straight-leg pants — for Harris at the 2023 State of the Union Address.
Mike Rowe
The Emmy Award-winning host confirmed to CNN that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. approached him in March about being his running mate. He declined. He has not posted an official endorsement for neither Trump nor Harris.
Nicole Ari Parker
The “And Just Like That” actress spent this past weekend knocking on doors for Harris in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.
“We can’t win without Pennsylvania and we can’t win Pennsylvania without Philly and we can’t win Philly without West Philly,” the Baltimore native wrote in her recent Instagram post, which she ended with five fists bumps in an array of hues with the words LETS GO!!!!!! and #KamalaHarris2024
Julie Bowen
The “Modern Family” star, originally from Baltimore County, has remained fairly quiet on social media with political opinions. However, on Aug. 7, she posted a video of Tim Walz with his daughter at the Minnesota State Fair getting on rides together. The video includes banter between the two where they quibble over vegetarianism.
“Well, I’m in love with this whole thing …”
It’s not exactly an endorsement, but it caught the ire of one commenter who wrote: “Hollywood. Out of touch society.”
Michael Ealy
The University Maryland, College Park graduate and Maryland-raised actor was flashing those striking blue eyes throughout Baltimore last weekend stumping for Angela Alsobrooks. He has also actively encouraged Americans to register to vote through a PSA. Wearing a “Hotties for Harris ‘24″ sweatshirt, Ealy dropped an endorsement video for Harris on Instagram on Sunday, reminding his 1.3 million followers that the next president will have the potential to nominate at least three Supreme Court justices. He also warned of Trump having “unchecked power.”
Isis King
The Prince George’s County native who made history as the first transgender contestant on “America’s Next Top Model” and then was cast as a regular on “With Love,” a romantic comedy series on Amazon, is behind Harris. On Sept. 10 King broke a one-year sabbatical from social media platform X, formerly Twitter, and wrote: “I came back from my Twitter hiatus to say #HarrisWalz2024 #Harris2024″
Amy Schumer
The Towson grad actress and comedian wasted no time making her support for Harris known.
“All in for @kamalaharris LFG!” she wrote in an Instagram post on July 21, along with a portrait of Harris wearing a white cream blazer and perched on a chair. (Schumer comes from a political family as the niece of Sen. Majority Leader Charles “Chuck” Schumer.
Bailey Anne
Miss Maryland USA has peppered her Instagram stories with Harris endorsements and happenings throughout the election cycle. She posted a picture of herself with a mail-in ballot earlier this month with the hashtags #WeAreNotGoingBack #ImWithHer #Vote and another post of her at a mailbox dropping off a mail-in ballot at the beginning of the early-voting period.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
The actress who grew up in Montgomery County spoke in support of Harris at the Democratic National Convention. She has also peppered social media and television appearances professing her support for Harris. The “Veep” star said Harris is nothing like her Emmy Award-winning character, Selina Meyer.
“Let me explain to you, on ‘Veep’ I played a narcissistic, megalomaniac sociopath, and that is not Kamala Harris,” Louis-Dreyfus said during an appearance on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” live from the Democratic National Convention, adding: “It might be another candidate in the race.”’
Wendy Osefo
A number of cast members from “Real Housewives of Potomac” have made it clear that they back Harris. But Osefo might be the most vocal. She attended the Democratic National Convention in August and peppered her Instagram account with pictures and posts from the event. A political analyst in her own right, Osefo has also appeared on several television shows lending her political expertise about the 2024 election.
Lynda Carter
The actress of “Wonder Woman” fame, who lives in Potomac, hosted a September online fundraiser “Geeks & Nerds for Harris” with other celebs like television scientist Bill Nye, “Star Trek” actors LeVar Burton and Anthony Rapp, and “Star Wars” actor Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker).
On Aug 5, Carter posted this endorsement for Harris on X: I’m voting for Kamala Harris because I support a free and thriving America where women have control over their own bodies, children are safe from gun violence, our economy is competitive, and we have a fighting chance against climate change. We won’t go back. #WomenForHarris
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