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18% of voters more likely to back Taylor Swift-endorsed presidential candidate, poll shows

by RAY LEWIS | The National DeskMon, January 29th 2024

WASHINGTON (TND) — Taylor Swift may influence the results of the 2024 presidential election, with nearly 20% of voters saying they are "likely" to support a candidate endorsed by her.

The poll conducted Redfield & Wilton Strategies shows 18% of voters would align their choice with the singer's, according to Newsweek. However, it also shows 17% of voters are less likely to vote for a candidate endorsed by Swift.

"It is informative when people talk about voters because it shows you how little voters know about the issues, particularly young voters,” Towson University professor emeritus Dr. Richard Vatz told The National Desk (TND). “Bottom line is, I think a Taylor Swift endorsement could have an effect in a close election, but it shouldn’t have an effect.”

The singer’s endorsement appears to impact younger Americans most, with approximately 3 in 10 voters under 35 saying they would vote for a Swift-approved candidate. Swift's endorsement would only influence 4% of those aged 65 or older, according to the poll.

Vatz criticizes those who would base their vote off a celebrity endorsement.

“You can imagine if people have a conversation, and somebody says, ‘I’m going to vote for whom Taylor Swift supports.' The people with whom that is an effective argument – you’re talking about people who the pollsters used to call ‘know-nothings,” he noted. “She could have a very small effect, and in a close election, in a close state, it could make a difference.”

Ahead of the 2018 midterm elections, Swift broke her longstanding silence on politics by endorsing Phil Bredsen, a Tennessee Democrat, for Senate. The singer shared a link to a voting registration website along with her announcement, which reportedly recorded more than 35,000 new registrations shortly after the endorsement.

Vatz argues any impact Swift has on the presidential election would be preposterous.

“If she does [affect voters], it’s more evidence that it’s ridiculous and that such voters are completely uninformed because her opinion on an election in which she has no record of study is really absurd,” he said. “Why in the world would anybody pay attention to Taylor Swift?”

The singer has already influenced lawmakers’ pushes for regulations on artificial intelligence after fake pornographic images of her circulated on social media last week. New York Assemblyman Clyde Vanel, D-Queens, advocated for repercussions for the creator of the images.

“What happened to Taylor Swift is illegal in New York," Assemblyman Vanel alleged. "It's a Class A misdemeanor for someone to knowingly or recklessly publish a generated photo or visual depiction of someone with sexual explicit content. We have to let the public know what we have in place. We have to let them know this is wrong, and we will prosecute these kinds of actions."