Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Kamala Harris for president got international attention, but many PNW students say it will not influence their votes in November.
“Celeb endorsements don’t really make a difference in how I vote because, in the end, it’s about
voting for who you believe in and understanding the facts,” said Savannah Benitez, senior Marketing major.
Evan Kovera, freshman Computer Graphics Technology major, agrees.
“I like celebrities and follow some famous people on social media, but I don’t pay attention to their politics,” he said. “I’m gonna do my own thing, and I don’t want to be influenced by what somebody else says to me when I can do my own research. I’m not going to base my vote on what somebody else says or feels.”
Swift endorsed Harris in an Instagram post minutes after the Sept. 10 presidential debate ended. Since then, more than 400,000 people have used a link embedded in that post to register to vote.
The endorsement appeared to spark reaction from former president Donald Trump, who a few days later posted on Truth Social an all-caps message: “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT.”
Jada Jones, second year Psychology major, doesn’t think people should take endorsements too seriously.
“For me personally celebrities don’t make a difference, I’m very strong and passionate about who I vote for because of what I believe in — not what celebrities believe in,” she said.
The value of celebrity endorsements has been questioned. A 2020 survey of 2,200 American adults found that 89% said they would not be influenced by such endorsements. However, the same study showed that nearly 1 in 5 Gen Z voters – 19% — said a celebrity endorsement would make them more likely to vote for a candidate.
A university study of the 2008 presidential campaign found that Oprah Winfrey’s endorsement of Barack Obama resulted in his getting an extra 1 million votes.
“I think it’s good that celebrities bring attention to the younger generation like me that it’s important to vote and it’s really important to stick up for what you believe in regardless of what other people around you say,” said Matthew Wade, fourth-year Mechanical Engineering major.
Kayla Skertich, a junior Biology major, suspects that Swift’s endorsement will drive some votes to Harris.
“I saw that Taylor Swift made her endorsement, and I think that that’s probably going to be really huge for a lot of people, because I feel like people will blindly follow what she does without really thinking for themselves,” she said.
Both presidential candidates have attracted endorsements from celebrities, politicians and business executives. And both Republicans and Democrats featured celebrities prominently in their respective conventions last summer.
Rossalynn Lopes, a sophomore English major, believes celebrity endorsements represent a mixed bag for candidates.
“It depends on what celebrity is endorsing for either side,” she said. “If you were to bring Taylor Swift
into this, I guarantee that the Swifties would have their opinions easily swayed. But [a band like] Cigarettes After Sex … are pretty well known but I don’t think anyone would be easily convinced of their opinions on voting.”
Kenneth Stone, a senior majoring in Business Management, thinks celebrities should be free to do what they want. He said they have a right to make endorsements – particularly since it may involve some professional risk.
“Celebrities should be free to express their political opinions,” he said. “I do believe their opinions influence people’s votes. … Ultimately the celebrity takes the fall for their political opinion because they risk alienating half the country.”
Also contributing to this story were Razariah Combs, Kelly Dahn, Destiney Rodriguez and Jaime Velazques Jr.
