Will Celebrity Endorsements Sway the Presidential Election?

Presidential Election: Leading up to the Nov. 5 presidential election, a number of high-profile celebrities have endorsed their preferred candidates.

Vice President Kamala Harris has been backed by musicians Taylor Swift and Beyonce, among others. Those who have come forward for former President Donald Trump include businessman Elon Musk and musician Kid Rock.

With the race so close, will these votes of confidence actually shift the outcome of the election by swaying undecided voters or increasing turnout? Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, Newhouse director of the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, weighs in.

Tufts Now: How do celebrity endorsements affect voters, particularly younger ones?

Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg: Messages from celebrities and influencers about participating in elections can be a way to meet people where they are, especially in virtual or local communities where talking about elections and voting is not the norm. So it can serve as an entry point to learning about voting and to connecting with opportunities to participate.

That can be especially important for young people, who may be just starting with civic engagement, and in particular for young people who don’t have many other sources of access to that kind of information. For example, in one CIRCLE analysis, we found that “opportunity” youth, who are neither working nor in school, were more likely than youths in college to see information about politics from influencers and celebrities. 

But what’s more important is what happens after a person sees a message from a celebrity. We want to make sure they have the additional information and support to act on their new or renewed interest in participating.

How might celebrity endorsements affect the outcome of the presidential race next month? 

Young people, who are the focus of CIRCLE’s research, will surely play a major role in the upcoming election—whether they’re motivated to vote by their favorite singer or by their deep concern for the issues affecting their communities.

CIRCLE’s Youth Electoral Significance Index, which uses data to rank the races where youth could have the biggest impact, highlights that young voters could be decisive in key battlegrounds like Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Nevada—but also in key Senate races like Montana and Ohio, and in dozens of House races around the country. 

Some of those races are often decided by razor-thin margins, so even a small number of young people who may get registered or mobilized because of a celebrity message could have a decisive impact.

Taylor Swift’s social media post endorsing Harris in September drove hundreds of thousands of people to vote.gov in 24 hours, a huge spike in traffic to the voter information site. Is the Swift effect different in magnitude from what other celebrity endorsements deliver?

Obviously to some extent, the more famous and influential someone is, the larger the potential impact. We’ve seen the reporting on surges to voter registration websites after Swift’s messages in the past cycle and in this one. But we don’t know how many of those clicks actually turn into registered voters. As we said previously, these endorsements or messages can open a door, but young people need continued outreach and structural support to follow through to the end of the process!

That said, one thing about Swift specifically is that she doesn’t just have a lot of fans, but organized fandoms with groups or clubs in schools. That’s pretty unique! And those can potentially become the kinds of spaces we call “political homes”—digital or physical communities where young people can connect, learn about issues, and take action together. We saw some of this happen with events organized by “Swifties.” 

Having a political home is really critical to civic engagement, so that’s one potential type of impact that is much more profound than website clicks.

How have celebrities influenced young voters in past elections? Has that effect changed over time?

In national surveys that specifically ask this question, very few young people say that a celebrity endorsement directly affects their vote. But there are likely indirect impacts that are harder to judge. 

Celebrity messages may contribute to the overall culture around electoral participation. Celebrities have been more active and involved in encouraging voting in recent years, and it’s probably not a coincidence that youth have had historically high levels of voter turnout in cycles like 2018, 2020, and 2022. So celebrities may be helping to build a culture in which it’s expected, exciting, and even cool to vote, and our research suggests that culture is a key part of growing young voters.

Is the celebrity endorsement effect a positive or negative one for our democracy? 

It doesn’t have to be an either or! When done right, research suggests celebrities’ political engagement can have a positive impact for both our democracy and for a celebrity’s brand. 

One way to make sure that happens is for celebrities to partner with organizations that are already involved in efforts to promote civic participation. Those groups can help guide a celebrity’s involvement so that it does have a positive impact, and they can be part of the infrastructure that helps a young person learn more about issues or candidates, and have access to voter registration tools or making a plan to vote, after they’ve seen a celebrity’s message. 

It’s that combination of culture and supportive infrastructure that can make a celebrity’s message a great initial spark that ignites a flame of lifelong civic engagement. Newswise/SP