The 2024 election saw some major endorsement with Taylor Swift, Oprah Winfrey throwing their weight behind vice president and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. But pollster Nate Silver said RFK Jr’s endorsement of Donald Trump is bigger than Taylor Swift’s of Kamala Harris because people already assumed Taylor Swift on Kamala Harris bandwagon.
Speaking on podcast Risky Business, Silver said the most important endorsement in the race so far has been RFK Jr endorsing Donald Trump.”That coincided with a rough period for Harris in the polls,” he added. “Those voters are lost. That might have mattered a fair bit. By ‘a fair bit,’ I mean half a point.”
Kennedy Jr suspended his independent presidential race and backed Donald Trump after he approached the Kamala Harris camp too. Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris moments after the debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. But it did not matter much, Nate said. “She apparently drove some voter registration efforts, and so you definitely take that if you’re Harris. But it’s complicated because it happened at the same time as the debate.”
Also, in 2020 Swift endorsed President Joe Biden. So her endorsement for Kamala Harris was almost certain — and only a matter of time.
An ABC News poll said Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Kamala Harris had little impact on potential voters. The survey conducted from September 11 to 13 found that just 6 per cent of US adults said Swift’s endorsement of Harris makes them more likely to vote for her. Meanwhile, 13 per cent said it makes them less likely to support Harris, although this group of respondents was overwhelming Trump supporters. In addition, 81 per cent said Swift’s endorsement makes no difference to them.
According to Reuters, the link shared by Swift on her story directing voters to vote.gov drew 406,000 visitors to the site. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they then registered to vote, some may have just clicked on the link and visited the site.