How Beyoncé and Taylor Swift’s support could help Harris

Celebrities generally do not have much influence on elections. Voting decisions are often dictated by people’s partisan connections, ideological predilections, the state of the economy and foreign affairs, among other things. Famous people in the worlds of music, sports, arts and entertainment often express political opinions, but there is little evidence that they are decisive for many voters.

When observing the academic researchThe reasons are clear. Celebrities do not have much political experience, they tend to be more liberal than rest of the countryand they have followings among the general public that are limited to particular sports teams, styles of music, or geographic areas. Someone who is prominent in the country music field, for example, might help some voters, but not other people who never listen to that type of music.

In recent years, the most notable exception to this trend was Oprah Winfrey In December 2007, when he endorsed Barack Obama for president, he made campaign appearances with him and lent credibility to the young and inexperienced candidate because of his media reputation as a “powerhouse.” Two economists at the University of Maryland estimated that his endorsement brought More than a million votes Obama during the nomination process.

But the question is whether Possible sponsorships from Taylor Swift and Beyoncé For Kamala Harris, the acting vice president would be having a “Winfrey moment.” Swift is near the top of the list of celebrity stars, with 283 million followers on Instagram and 95 million fans on Twitter/X. Her music ranges from pop to country, and she has a young following that pays close attention to her public comments.

Beyoncé is one of the few celebrities whose star power matches Swift’s. She has 317 million fans on Instagram and 15.2 million followers on Twitter/X. With the artist’s apparent permission, Harris has begun her rallies with Beyoncé’s hit song, “Freedom.” The pop star is beloved by young people, African Americans and many others and could help Harris reorganize Barack Obama’s 2008-2012 coalition.

In October 2020, Swift endorsed Biden for president, saying she wanted to encourage America’s “healing process.” V Magazine that “the change we need most is to elect a president who recognizes that people of color deserve to feel safe and represented, that women deserve the right to choose what happens to their bodies, and that the LGBTQIA+ community deserves to be recognized and included.”

Will she and Beyoncé endorse Harris in 2024? We don’t know for sure, but Swift responded in 2020 with a resounding “YES” when Harris joined Biden’s ticket, and Beyoncé appears to be on board with Harris using her music at Democratic rallies this year. The musicians’ large followings among young people, African Americans, and women, combined with their demonstrated ability to amplify other people’s messages, suggests they could be very helpful to Harris.

In a close race, Little things matter So it’s possible that Swift and Beyoncé’s support could be decisive in areas where the vice president needs a boost, such as with young people, African-American voters and people who love the passion with which musicians perform their music. Support from these superstars could be exactly as important as when Winfrey helped Obama more than a decade ago.