1 in 6 'more likely to vote' with push from Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce: Poll
Not only can Taylor Swift bring fans to stadiums across the world for her sold-out “Eras” tour, she can also get them to head to the ballot box: A new poll finds that 1 in 6 adults said they were “more likely to vote” if Swift or her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, encouraged them to do so.
The poll, released Friday morning by market research firm Savanta, found that while 15 percent of participants would likely be persuaded to show up on Election Day with a push from the power couple, just 4 percent said an appeal from Swift and Kelce would make have the opposite effect and make them “less likely to vote.” The vast majority of respondents, 79 percent, said the “Shake it Off” singer and her boyfriend voicing their support for voting would have “no influence” on whether or not they cast a ballot.
The polling comes amid a tidal wave of political headlines involving Swift ahead of the Chiefs' Super Bowl faceoff against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. In recent weeks, conspiracy theorists on the right have floated the evidence-free idea that the Super Bowl will be rigged in the Chiefs' favor in order to maximum exposure for Swift to endorse President Biden’s reelection bid.
The 34-year-old performer — who has 280 million followers on Instagram — supported Biden in the 2020 race against then-President Trump.
Biden’s campaign team is said to be strategizing ways to secure Swift’s endorsement, according to The New York Times.
While she might not sway who they vote for — Swift backed Rep. Marsha Blackburn’s Democratic opponent in a 2018 Tennessee Senate race, only to see the Republican congresswoman win the seat in the upper chamber — the Grammy Award winner has been shown to have significant power in driving her followers to register to vote.
Last year, after Swift posted a message encouraging her fans to register to vote, more than 35,000 did so in a single day on Vote.org, the organization said.
Asked about the Swift-related poll’s findings, Vote.org CEO Andrea Hailey told ITK, “Every voter makes a difference, and more often than not the entire direction of our country is decided by election margins far smaller than 15 percent.”
“Celebrity engagement is just one piece of the puzzle to reach voters to register and to vote – people need to hear from leaders big and small, icons and micro influencers, household names and others that resonate best in specific communities,” Hailey said.
The poll conducted by Savanta had a sample size of 2,090 U.S. adults and was conducted Feb. 5-6.