Celebrity endorsements won’t sway their votes, young Ohioans say
By Audrey Trevarthan/Kent State NewsLab
As Election Day nears, many public figures make their stances known by endorsing candidates.
Taylor Swift made a post shortly after the presidential debate on Sept. 10, endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz. Harris has also received support from British pop artist Charli XCX, along with George Clooney, Barbara Streisand and many others.
Puerto Rican star Bad Bunny endorsed Harris’ campaign on Oct. 27 after a comedian made an offensive joke at a Trump Rally in New York City. Both parties have been campaigning for Puerto Rican voters.
Former pro wrestler Hulk Hogan endorsed former president Donald Trump on stage at the Republican National Convention, and Kid Rock and Elon Musk have endorsed him as well.
For someone who’s registered to vote and pays attention to politics, their favorite celebrity’s endorsement most likely won’t make much of a difference. Gen Z voters reported that their minds are made up. However, celebrity endorsements aren’t useless, as they can activate a disengaged voter.
“We live in such a polarized political environment, people who are paying attention tend to be very intense. So, for most fans, if they’re already likely voters and already paying attention, I don’t know that an endorsement is really going to make that much difference,” said J. Cherie Strachan, director of the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics and political science professor at the University of Akron.
It’s especially unlikely to convince them to switch sides if they’re already leaning toward one candidate, she said.
“We are at a stage in polarization in the United States where political scientists actually refer to partisanship as negative partisanship; most people dislike the other side more than they like their own,” Strachan said.
Isa Fields, a 21-year-old Kent State University student, said she’s planning to vote and thinks people should still do their own research, despite whom a celebrity endorses.
“For me personally, it doesn’t really have an effect, because they’re just another person—they have a little more money,” she said.
Marc Ragone, a 22-year-old Kent State student from New Jersey, said he doesn’t think celebrity endorsements hold value in politics. Whether it’s Swift or Akron celebrity and NBA star LeBron James, his vote will not change.
LeBron James endorsed Kamala Harris on Oct. 31 and has been politically active in past elections, influencing his large social media following.
“Even though LeBron is a giant star, I like to stick to my own opinions based on what I think, not based on what other people think,” Ragone said. “And that’s fair to, like, LeBron, and to see and hold his opinions in high honor.”
In 2020, James and other Black athletes started an organization called “More Than a Vote,” aimed at inspiring African-Americans to register and vote.
The day before Election Day in 2020, he posted a photo of President Joe Biden and Vice President Harris to his Instagram, officially endorsing them. James also voiced his support for former president Barack Obama and publicly endorsed Hilary Clinton. He even wrote an op-ed in Business Insider and the Akron Beacon Journal expressing his endorsement of Clinton in 2016.
While an endorsement might not change a voter’s mind, Strachan said they can serve as reminders for people to register and vote.
Strachan said that she thought Taylor Swift’s approach to her endorsement was done well. She liked how Swift said who she was going to vote for, but encouraged fans to do their own research.
“The other thing that [Swift] did, that I thought made it incredibly more powerful, was linking all of the places to register to vote so that not only would people see it, but immediately there would be a way to take tangible action, which I thought was quite clever,” Strachan said.
Swift’s post led over 400,000 users to vote.gov, a website that gives voting tips and provides registration information. While we don’t know how those people are voting, Swift’s endorsement may have encouraged fans to register.
Celebrity endorsements are most impactful when they activate voters who were disengaged, Strachan said.
“I know lots of people will say, you know, ‘oh, what do they know?’” she said. “‘They’re just a celebrity, you know, shut up and dribble,’ those kinds of comments. I fundamentally disagree.”
This story was originally published by the Kent State NewsLab, a collaborative news outlet publishing journalism by Kent State students. It was updated on Nov. 1 after LeBron James endorsed Kamala Harris.