Kamala Harris’s celebrity endorsements didn’t matter. Can they sway voters?

Vice President Kamala Harris’s failure to win the presidency cast doubt on Democrats’ tactics, including mounting celebrity endorsements that appeared to have little impact on the final outcome.

Harris took action early when she had a silent endorsement from pop star Charli XCX, prompting a week of talk shows and artists to talk about “BRAT” and the meaning of the pop era. the culture that the message produced.

The trend continued over the next 90 days as Harris received endorsements from a host of celebrities, including Taylor Swift, Megan Thee Stallion, Bruce Springsteen, George Clooney, Billie Eilish, Cardi B, Ariana Grande, Lizzo, Mark Hamill and Lebron James, among others.

President-elect Donald Trump has also received his share of celebrity endorsements, such as actor Kevin Sorbo, Hulk Hogan, NASCAR star Danica Patrick, YouTuber Jake Paul, UFC CEO Dana White and podcast star Joe Rogan.

However, Democrats have touted the power and influence such deals can have on their campaign. Most importantly, news reports added that when Taylor Swift agreed with Harris and encouraged her fans to make sure they registered to vote, more than 400,000 people did.

New York Post featured columnist Kirsten Fleming who spoke about Harris’ campaign and the celebrities who supported it, arguing that Harris “said a few words and let the celebrity do the talking.” heavy. And it sat down.”

“Although Harris’ slogan was ‘Let’s go backwards,’ the campaign was backwards, leading to DeLorean in 2008,” Fleming wrote. “It was a long time ago when Hollywood A-listers meant something here.

“Barack Obama was at the top, and putting Julia Roberts or George Clooney on the campaign trail meant appealing to an important constituency – the readers of People’s magazine Middle America,” he continued. “Before the Democratic Party completely abandoned the working class. He talked to them. He told them they were racist or bigoted for not including their representatives in their lives.”

Instead, Fleming pointed to the impact Trump’s endorsements have had, from podcasters and broadcasters who have interviewed Trump and helped put him online directly to millions of people. subscribers and viewers.

Fleming argued that these celebrities were “lesser people” than the Democrats pushed, marking another example of losing step with their base. .

The Harvard Kennedy School’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation addressed this issue in a study published in August titled, “Celebrities Strengthening Our Democratic Culture,” which examined the impact of public engagement. who are famous for participating in society.

“Today, many celebrities are involved in efforts to help grow public interest, engagement and participation while building goodwill with their fans,” the study’s lead author, Ashley Spillane, wrote. introduction.

“This study focuses on what celebrities do, and can do, to promote voter participation, including voter education and fundraising efforts. However, incomplete, the impact of these efforts can be measured by assessing whether they lead people to take action related to voting, such as registering to vote, requesting votes, and voting.”

Spillane ultimately concluded that celebrity endorsements may not have swayed voters, but encouraged greater engagement overall, a point he reiterated. Newsweek by email.

“We can certainly debate the value and impact of celebrity endorsements, especially in close elections with a lot of data,” Spillane said. Newsweek. “However, there is strong evidence that celebrities have a real influence in promoting social engagement in general, regardless of party. [encouraging voter registration, poll worker signups, etc.]

“Influential voices, brands and cultural leaders have the ability to make voting more accessible and generate excitement and deeper commitment to the election, regardless of the final candidate. “

However, he added: “Questions about the effect of celebrity endorsements on the 2024 election will be delayed until we have more voter data. , we don’t know—when to someone who has studied that.

“We have to wait for the data to see if that caused the increase, but the data we learned in 2018, 2020 and 2022 all showed that celebrity social media advertising is driving traffic.” high,” he said.

“In particular, when you look at the involvement of celebrities in public affairs, their impact depends on their authenticity and relevance to the audience. When a celebrity understands his fans and the community of fans his, he knows what kind of information and tools will help them the most and what content is most important to them.

“With that in mind, prioritizing celebrities who are connected to certain countries or communities is a thoughtful approach and it’s what we’ve seen both presidential campaigns try to do this year.”

According to Spillane, the US ranks 31st out of 50 developed countries in terms of qualified voter turnout, warning that the constant voter turnout and widespread distrust of political institutions “weaken our democracy. .”

Many noted a marked drop in voter turnout in the 2024 election compared to 2020, which was the highest turnout in the last century at 65.9 percent of eligible voters. .

Analysis by The Washington Post using data from the Associated Press found that the expected national turnout could be as high as 65 percent, meaning that any visible gap will be closed in the coming days as countries like California, Arizona and Nevada continue to report outstanding votes.