Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is becoming a meaningful event for the U.S. elections. Since her endorsement of Kamala Harris, the pop star has not spoken publicly about the presidential race, but a series of concerts before the vote on November 5 turned on the electoral organizational machinery of Democrats and Republicans.
Millions of young voters are the target of this campaign within the campaign.
Harris seeking for “Swifties”
After the presidential debate, Taylor Swift published a post on Instagram to endorse Harris. The next day, over 400,000 people followed the link posted by Swift and visited vote.gov, the government’s site for voter registration.
We don’t know how many actually registered.
Now, Eras Tour concerts between the end of October and November are a new opportunity to collect votes. The Democratic National Committee took action to transform the tour and make it a Harris-themed.
Swift herself is not directly involved. For now. The “Swifties for Kamala” are taking care of it.
The group, not affiliated with Swift, wants to mobilize fans to support Harris. In Florida, the “Swifties for Kamala” have organized surveys, phone banking and text messages to encourage voters to vote. Approximately 1.5 million Florida voters will be able to read messages such as “I know places you can vote” on their phones, and “How to get the girl elected,” inspired by Swift’s songs.
Campaign volunteers also made friendship bracelets, which have become a signature accessory among Swift concertgoers.
Meanwhile, the Democratic committee is sponsoring a new filter on Snapchat with the banner: “In my voting era” and “Be fearless for,” with a blank space that users can fill in with words like “equality,”, ” reproductive rights” or “climate action.”
In Miami, there are billboards with Harris and messages like “Welcome to your voting era! Swiftly go to the polls and vote for Democrats!”
The “Swifties for Kamala” are also providing financial resources to the Democrats. So far, they have raised over $226,000 out of a goal of 321,000.
But Democrats aren’t the only ones who want to capitalize on Swifties.
How Trump aims to use Swifties against Harris
The Republicans are not standing by the Eras Tour. In Miami, a Trump-themed caravan crossed the streets in downtown. Kevin Cooper, vice chair of the Republican Party in Miami-Dade County, told Politico that the party’s message about Swift will focus on how expensive concerts tickets have become.
The opportunity is to highlight economy and inflation, “strong” topics for Trump and, according to various polls, top issues for many American voters. Cooper called Swift’s concerts a “prime example of economic devastation under the Biden-Harris administration.”
In August, Trump posted a fake image of Swift generated by artificial intelligence showing her dressed in the colors of the American flag. The photo caption was: “Taylor Swift wants you to vote for Donald Trump.” Trump added to the post: “I accept!”.
A few days after Swift’s endorsement of Harris, the former president changed his mind, posting a few words: “I hate Taylor Swift!”
What if Taylor Swift pushes younger people to vote again
The hype is high around Swift’s latest concerts, with Democrats hoping the superstar will again encourage her fans to vote.
“She holds immense power to get out the vote,” said Eden Giagnorio, spokesperson for the Florida Democratic Party, as reported by Politico. “We hope our organizing efforts will help voters connect the dots – but nothing compares to her advocacy around it.”
On the other hand, the Republicans, obviously, hope this won’t happen. Kevin Cooper also said that in case of a political statement, Swift could put her reputation at risk: “People are there to have a good time and listen to music,” he said, not to receive “partisan political messages.”
Historically, Swift’s popularity has driven fans to the polls. In this election, the polls remain virtually tied. How much Swift’s endorsement impacts the results remains to be seen.
