{"id":15659,"date":"2024-09-12T07:45:02","date_gmt":"2024-09-12T14:45:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=15659"},"modified":"2024-09-15T08:20:21","modified_gmt":"2024-09-15T15:20:21","slug":"will-taylor-swifts-endorsement-actually-affect-the-election-the-new-york-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=15659","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Will Taylor Swift\u2019s Endorsement Actually Affect the Election?&#8221;, The New York Times"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>By&nbsp;Ethan Singer&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/by\/ronda-kaysen\">Ronda Kaysen<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ethan Singer and Ronda Kaysen reviewed academic research, analyzed polling data and spoke to a dozen Taylor Swift fans in Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sept. 12, 2024<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cn.nytimes.com\/usa\/20240913\/taylor-swift-endorsement-harris-election\/\">\u9605\u8bfb\u7b80\u4f53\u4e2d\u6587\u7248<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/cn.nytimes.com\/usa\/20240913\/taylor-swift-endorsement-harris-election\/zh-hant\/\">\u95b1\u8b80\u7e41\u9ad4\u4e2d\u6587\u7248<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/es\/2024\/09\/13\/espanol\/estados-unidos\/taylor-swift-apoyo-kamala-harris.html\">Leer en espa\u00f1ol<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"article-summary\">What the research says about celebrity endorsements \u2014 and what might make this one different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Listen to this article\u00a0\u00b7 7:09 min\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/help.nytimes.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/24318293692180\">Learn more<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/09\/12\/multimedia\/00up-swift1-hftb\/00up-swift1-hftb-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" alt=\"Taylor Swift pointing while singing at a recent concert in Lisbon. \"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Taylor Swift left no doubt about whom she supports, but will it swing any votes?Credit&#8230;Andre Dias Nobre\/Agence France-Presse \u2014 Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>To some Americans, the biggest news to come out of the presidential debate Tuesday night was not Kamala Harris\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/09\/11\/us\/politics\/trump-harris-debate-who-won.html\">well-received<\/a>\u00a0performance. It was Taylor Swift\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/09\/10\/us\/taylor-swift-endorses-kamala-harris.html\">endorsement<\/a>\u00a0of her minutes after the debate ended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As celebrity endorsements go, there may not be a bigger one. But could it actually influence the race?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s no doubt that Ms. Swift has sway with her legions of fans. There were a total of 405,999 visits to Vote.gov through the link on Ms. Swift\u2019s Instagram story in the 24 hours it was live, far more than the site\u2019s daily average of 30,000 in early September, according to a General Services Administration spokesperson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"link-35e4957b\">Could Swift\u2019s endorsement be a special case?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Vice President Harris is not a typical general election candidate, having entered the race less than two months ago. In a recent New York Times\/Siena College poll, 28 percent of likely voters&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2024\/09\/08\/us\/politics\/times-siena-poll-likely-electorate-crosstabs.html\">said<\/a>&nbsp;they still needed to learn more about her. Only 9 percent of likely voters felt the same way about Mr. Trump. If celebrity endorsements do have a larger effect when voters don\u2019t have a strong view of the candidate, Ms. Harris could benefit from being relatively unknown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s also the question of who might be most receptive to Ms. Swift\u2019s message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although her supporters are more likely to be Democrats (according to a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/d3nkl3psvxxpe9.cloudfront.net\/documents\/Taylor_Swift_poll_results_DBEmhXF.pdf#page=6\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">recent<\/a>&nbsp;YouGov poll) she is popular enough that she has support across the political spectrum. About a third of voters who didn\u2019t support either Mr. Trump or Ms. Harris said they liked her. It\u2019s possible some of those voters \u2014 a sliver, to be sure \u2014 may be swayed by the endorsement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"storyline-latest-updates\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/live\/2024\/09\/15\/us\/harris-trump-election\">2024 Election: Live Updates<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Updated&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sept. 15, 2024, 10:33 a.m. ET34 minutes ago<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/live\/2024\/09\/15\/us\/harris-trump-election#jd-vance-springfield-pets\">JD Vance doubled down on false claims that Haitian migrants were eating pets in an Ohio city.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/live\/2024\/09\/15\/us\/harris-trump-election#heres-the-latest-on-the-presidential-race\">Here\u2019s the latest on the presidential race.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/live\/2024\/09\/15\/us\/harris-trump-election#latino-voters-america-ferrera\">Gabriel Luna, America Ferrera and other Latino celebrities join a push to mobilize Latino voters.<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The fact that partisanship forms in one\u2019s youth could be another argument for a Swift effect. In the YouGov poll, the youngest respondents were the most likely to say they were big Swift fans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYoung voters don\u2019t trust a lot of institutions, they don\u2019t trust a lot of traditional leaders, they do trust the people that they idolize,\u201d said&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/berks.psu.edu\/person\/ramsey-e-michele\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">E. Michele Ramsey<\/a>, an associate professor of communication arts and sciences at Penn State Berks who teaches a class on Ms. Swift. \u201cOur idols are people that we want to emulate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Several students we spoke to reflected this idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Buse Onat, 20, a junior at the University of Scranton and an undecided voter, grew up listening to Ms. Swift\u2019s music. She sees her as \u201ca really important figure\u201d in her life. To Ms. Onat, who doesn\u2019t follow politics closely, \u201chaving someone else endorse this, kind of shows you: I don\u2019t fully understand this, but this person does.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Grace Miller, 22, a senior at Kutztown University, grew up in a Republican household. But Ms. Swift\u2019s endorsement has made her more confident in her own favorable opinion of Ms. Harris. If Ms. Swift is \u201cnot scared to support someone, it kind of makes it seem like maybe she is the better option,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the YouGov poll, 8 percent of respondents said her endorsement would make them more likely to support Ms. Swift\u2019s favored candidate. Most said it wouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lillian Morales, a freshman at Penn State Berks, plans to vote for Ms. Harris and said Ms. Swift\u2019s endorsement was never going to influence her ultimate decision. \u201cIt\u2019s really not my business to know who someone is voting for,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd if she wants to express who she\u2019s voting for, then that\u2019s on her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If anything, the Swift fan base was already politically organized before the endorsement.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/swifties4kamala.com\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Swifties for Kamala<\/a>&nbsp;formed the day President Biden dropped out of the race. A single Instagram post may not do much to mobilize Swift voters any more than they already are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Swifties for Kamala \u201cfully expected this statement to come,\u201d said&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/politicalscience.nd.edu\/people\/erin-rossiter\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Erin L. Rossiter<\/a>, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame. \u201cNow that they have this endorsement, it legitimizes what they\u2019re doing so they can be more powerful in their organizing\u201d \u2014 even if the groundwork was already laid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"link-7c2481\">What about enthusiasm?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Does this mean that any impact of the Swift endorsement will be less about changing minds, and more about increasing turnout?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Young voters are typically much less likely to vote than older voters. In a close election, if Ms. Swift\u2019s endorsement persuaded even a small portion of Democratic-aligned potential voters to register and cast a ballot, it could make a difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then again, if it did, we wouldn\u2019t necessarily know it: If Ms. Harris sees a bump in polling data or voter registrations, it will be hard to tell whether it comes from Ms. Swift\u2019s endorsement, a strong debate performance or something else altogether.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The endorsement may also have other, less visible downstream effects. It may help with fund-raising or lead to more favorable media coverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Campaigns need excitement, but it\u2019s not always easy to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2024\/09\/07\/us\/politics\/harris-trump-rally-crowds-size.html\">gauge<\/a>. If it has felt to you that a lot of this year\u2019s election cycle has risen and fallen on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/08\/08\/upshot\/kamala-harris-polls-vibes.html\">vibes<\/a>, you\u2019re not alone. On Tuesday night, the Harris\/Walz campaign rushed to offer Swift-inspired friendship bracelets on its website. They sold out in less than 24 hours.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/es\/2024\/09\/13\/espanol\/estados-unidos\/taylor-swift-respalda-kamala-harris.html?pgtype=Article&amp;action=click&amp;module=RelatedLinks\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/es\/2024\/09\/13\/espanol\/estados-unidos\/taylor-swift-respalda-kamala-harris.html?pgtype=Article&amp;action=click&amp;module=RelatedLinks\">La historia de c\u00f3mo Taylor Swift decidi\u00f3 respaldar a Kamala Harris<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/es\/2024\/09\/13\/espanol\/estados-unidos\/taylor-swift-respalda-kamala-harris.html?pgtype=Article&amp;action=click&amp;module=RelatedLinks\">Sept. 13, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/by\/ronda-kaysen\">Ronda Kaysen<\/a>, a real estate reporter for The Times, writes about the intersection of housing and society.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/by\/ronda-kaysen\">More about Ronda Kaysen<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A version of this article appears in print on&nbsp;Sept. 13, 2024, Section&nbsp;A, Page&nbsp;14&nbsp;of the New York edition&nbsp;with the headline:&nbsp;Will Swift\u2019s Backing Of Harris Influence Votes in Fall Election?.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.parsintl.com\/publication\/the-new-york-times\/\">Order Reprints<\/a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/todayspaper\">Today\u2019s Paper<\/a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscriptions\/Multiproduct\/lp8HYKU.html?campaignId=48JQY\">Subscribe<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By&nbsp;Ethan Singer&nbsp;and&nbsp;Ronda Kaysen Ethan Singer and Ronda Kaysen reviewed academic research, analyzed polling data and spoke to a dozen Taylor Swift fans in Pennsylvania. Sept. 12, 2024 \u9605\u8bfb\u7b80\u4f53\u4e2d\u6587\u7248\u95b1\u8b80\u7e41\u9ad4\u4e2d\u6587\u7248Leer en espa\u00f1ol What the research says about celebrity endorsements \u2014 and what might make this one different. Listen to this article\u00a0\u00b7 7:09 min\u00a0Learn more To some Americans, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1001004,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15659"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1001004"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15659"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15659\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15660,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15659\/revisions\/15660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}