While Joe Biden‘s campaign reportedly is dreaming of the possibilities of a Taylor Swift endorsement, there’s some data suggesting that it could have a real impact.
A Redfield & Winton Strategies poll for Newsweek over the weekend found that 18% of respondents said that Swift’s endorsement made them “more likely” or “significantly more likely” to vote for that candidate. That said, 17% said her endorsement would make them less likely to vote for that candidate, while 55% said it would have no impact. The poll had a sample size of sample size of 1,500 eligible voters.
While the poll suggests that a Swift endorsement would be countered by a negative reaction, it also said that it would be particularly motivating to younger voters. That’s a key voting block for the Biden campaign, with concerns that the 18-34 age group won’t be as motivated to go to the polls as they were in 2020.
A caveat: This is just one poll, and it’s difficult to discern the true impact of celebrity endorsements in swaying votes. But campaigns have often turned to celebrities as a way to boost enthusiasm and fundraising, as well as to get people simple to register to vote. In the final days of the 2020 campaign, Biden campaigned with Lady Gaga, boosting crowds.
Swift is everywhere — as was apparent in the coverage of the AFC championship game and aftermath on Sunday. And there is every reason to believe that Time’s Person of the Year will continue to be just as ubiquitous over the next year as Biden and Donald Trump, perhaps even more so.
There is reason for the Biden campaign’s optimism that she will back his campaign. Swift, who is 47 years younger than the president, endorsed his campaign in 2020. Earlier that year, a viral clip from the Netflix documentary Miss Americana showed her determination to speak out against Donald Trump and one of his loyalists, Marsha Blackburn, despite her parents’ worries over her safety. Swift endorsed Blackburn’s opponent Phil Bredeson in the 2018 Senate race, but he lost.
Since then, she’s become even more of a worldwide sensation, with 280 million Instagram followers. She has encouraged fans to register to vote, something that has led to to an immediate uptick in tens of thousands of new registrations, according to Vote.org. Earlier this month, when Fox News host Jesse Watters suggested that the Pentagon psy-op unit “floated turning Taylor Swift into an asset” during a NATO meeting as a way to combat misinformation. A Pentagon spokesperson denied the claim in a statement to Politico: “As for this conspiracy theory, we are going to shake it off.” Get it?
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Source: DLine
