How Beyoncé and Taylor Swift endorsements could help Harris

Celebrity endorsements typically don’t move election needles very much. Vote choices often are dictated by people’s party connections, their ideological predilections, the state of the economy, and foreign affairs, among other things. People who are famous in the worlds of music, sports, the arts, and entertainment often express political views, but there isn’t much evidence they are decisive for many voters.

In looking at the academic research, the reasons are clear. Celebrities don’t have much political expertise, they tend to be more liberal than the rest of the country, and they have followings among the general public that are restricted to particular sports teams, styles of music, or geographic areas. Someone who is prominent in the country music field, for example, might help with some voters but not other individuals who never listen to that kind of music.

In recent years, the most prominent exception to this trend was Oprah Winfrey in December 2007 when she endorsed Barack Obama for president. She made campaign appearances with him and provided credibility for the young and inexperienced candidate due to her media reputation as a “person of substance.” Two economists from the University of Maryland estimated that her endorsement brought over one million votes to Obama during the nominating process.

But the question is whether possible Taylor Swift and Beyoncé endorsements for Kamala Harris would produce a “Winfrey moment” for the sitting vice president. Swift is near the top among entertainment celebrities, having 283 million followers on Instagram and 95 million fans on Twitter/X. Her music ranges from pop to country and she has a youth following that pays close attention to her public comments. 

Beyoncé is one of the few celebrities whose star power is equal to Swift’s. She has 317 million fans on Instagram and 15.2 million followers on Twitter/X. With the apparent permission of the artist, Harris has been starting her rallies with Beyoncé’s hit song “Freedom.” The pop star is beloved among young people, African Americans, and many other individuals and could help Harris reassemble the Barack Obama coalition from 2008 and 2012.

In October 2020, Swift endorsed Biden for president by saying she wanted to encourage America’s “healing process.” She told V Magazine that “the change we need most is to elect a president who recognizes that people of color deserve to feel safe and represented, that women deserve the right to choose what happens to their bodies, and that the LGBTQIA+ community deserves to be acknowledged and included.”

Will she and Beyoncé endorse Harris in 2024? We don’t know for sure, but Swift replied in 2020 with a definite “YES” when Harris joined the Biden ticket and Beyoncé seems okay with Harris using her music at this year’s Democratic rallies. The musicians’ strong followings among young people, African Americans, and women, combined with their demonstrated ability to amplify another individual’s messages, would suggest they could be very helpful to Harris.

In a close race, little things matter so it is possible that Swift/Beyoncé endorsements could be decisive in areas where the vice president needs a boost. That would be with young people, African American voters, and people who love the passion with which the musicians perform their music. These superstar endorsements could matter in exactly the same way as when Winfrey helped Obama more than a decade ago.