Will Taylor Swift Influence the Presidential Election?

 Will Taylor Swift Influence the Presidential Election?

    Since Taylor Swift's first big hit in 2006 with "Tim McGraw," fans have enjoyed Swift's songs, styles, and even sports interests since she began dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Recently, Swift endorsed presidential candidate Kamala Harris. This brought both support and backlash across the country. While some argue that Swift should not have gotten involved in politics- although she previously did so without as much fanfare in 2018 and 2020- her endorsement could make a difference in the polls.

    After the September 10 debate between Harris and Trump, Swift turned to Instagram to share her opinion on Harris. "She fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them," Swift said. "I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos."

  Before Swift's endorsement of Harris, Trump had been alluding to Swift being a follower of his. There were also presumably AI-enhanced social media posts with girls wearing "Swifties for Trump" shirts, implying she was a supporter. After seeing Swift's post, Trump went to Twitter to state, "I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!" 

   Trump's false claims about Swift inspired her to make public her support for Harris. "It brought me to the the conclusion that I need be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter," Swift said. She wanted to set the record straight. 

    Sunday, an ABC News/lpsos poll revealed out of those surveyed, 6 percent claimed they were more likely to vote for Harris and 13 percent said they were less likely to vote for Harris since Swift's endorsement. However, it is to be noted that those responding negatively were "overwhelmingly former President Trump supporters," according to the Hill.

    Swift's impact on women is impressive. After going public with her relationship with Kelce, the football world gained a new fanbase of "Swifties." Chiefs and NFL merchandise sales jumped along with viewership. According to Market Watch, the star's association with the sport boosted the NFL viewership of females ages 18-24 by 24%, and by 34% by women over the age of 35. Many wonder if her influence on sports will be similar in the polls.

    This is not the first time Swift has gotten political. Before the 2018 midterm elections in Tennessee, she stated that she was done being neutral within politics, and she would be voting for Democratic candidates Phil Bredesen for the Senate and Jim Cooper for the House of Representatives.

    According to the Tennessean, 11.7 percent of voters claimed that Taylor Swift's support made them more likely to vote for Bredeson. While it may not seem like a substantial number, it is obvious that Swift does have some effect on voters' opinions, and presidential elections are typically much closer than the Tennessean number.

    In addition, the star supported President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2020 presidential election. "The change we need," is how Swift described the pair. 

    After this, Swift went on her "Eras Tour," which is the highest-grossing and first to reach $1 billion according to Rolling Stone. Even if her endorsement angered some Americans, it seems as though she continues to be successful.    

   Historically, 18 to 44-year-olds have had the lowest voter turnout. This also happens to be the same ages that are influenced by Taylor Swift. According to National Public Radio, 300,000 visited the link to register to vote through her Instagram post. However, it is hard to know how many went through registering and are going to vote.

   We do not know whether Swifties will vote Democrat or Republican, but we know they are enthusiastic. Just try buying a ticket to one of her concerts.