Kamala Harris Targets ‘Swiftie’ Vote As Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour Returns In Miami

18 Oct 2024 by Conor Murray · Forbes

Topline

Vice President Kamala Harris has been trying to capitalize on her endorsement from billionaire pop star Taylor Swift as the Eras Tour returns for its final U.S. stops just weeks before the election, with new Snapchat filters and billboards urging pop star’s young fanbase—a critical demographic— to get out the vote and enter their “Kamala era.”

Swift endorsed Harris on Sept. 10. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights ... [+] Management )Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management

Key Facts

The Democratic National Committee’s push for Swiftie votes includes Snapchat filters, available in swing states, that will put an election-themed twist on some key Swiftie phrases, like: “In My Voting Era” and “Be fearless for…” which users can fill in with various political issues.

The DNC is also purchasing billboard advertisements urging voters to enter their “Kamala era,” which will include a billboard near the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, where Swift will perform three shows this weekend.

Swifties for Kamala, a group not affiliated with Swift that mobilizes the singer’s fans to support Harris, will phone bank during Swift’s three Miami shows this weekend, and will coordinate with the Harris campaign for a text bank session Monday.

Harris has not shied from referencing the endorsement, even making a “shake it off” joke during a taped appearance Thursday night at the Al Smith dinner.

What To Watch For

Whether Swift will campaign for Harris at all before the election. She hasn’t addressed the election since her highly anticipated endorsement of Harris in September, but she’ll be on stage for the final three weekends before the election as her Eras Tour rounds out its United States leg. After three stops in Miami this weekend, Swift will spend the next two weekends performing three shows each in New Orleans and Indianapolis before heading to Canada in November.

Key Background

Swift endorsed Harris in an Instagram post minutes after the presidential debate on Sept. 10. Swift called Harris a “steady-handed, gifted leader” and praised her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, for “standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman’s right to her own body.” She said her endorsement was partially influenced by AI-generated pictures Trump posted on Truth Social that falsely implied she had endorsed him. An endorsement by Swift, a billionaire listed by Forbes as the fifth-most powerful woman in the world in 2023, was highly sought after, and President Joe Biden was reportedly seeking her endorsement before he dropped out of the race in July. Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly lamented that Swift does not support him. In February, Trump said Swift supporting then-candidate Biden would be “disloyal” because Trump passed the Music Modernization Act, which updated copyright law for streaming, in 2020. After Swift endorsed Harris, Trump said on “Fox & Friends” he preferred Brittany Mahomes, Swift’s friend and wife of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, much more than Swift, after Mahomes raised speculation she was a Trump supporter because she reportedly liked, then unliked, supportive posts about Trump on Instagram. Days later, Trump posted on Truth Social: “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!” Swift previously endorsed Biden in 2020, one of her first political endorsements after she began endorsing candidates in 2018, when she supported Tennessee Democrat Phil Bredesen’s unsuccessful Senate bid against Sen. Marsha Blackburn.

Big Number

406,000. That’s about how many users visited vote.gov, a voter registration website, through a link Swift posted to her Instagram story on Sept. 10, the day she endorsed Harris.

Forbes Valuation

Swift is worth $1.6 billion, according to Forbes estimates, making her one of the wealthiest celebrities in the world and the first person to become a billionaire based solely on her music catalog and performances. She joined the billionaire ranks last year after her Eras Tour, the highest-grossing tour of all time, helped her net worth surge.