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The push to get out the vote comes from the influential pop sensation as conspiracy theories swirl around her playing a covert role in politics.
By Kevin Dolak
Taylor Swift made a bipartisan Super Tuesday push to her legions of fans to get out the vote on Instagram as primary races were taking place in 17 states and territories across the U.S.
“Today, March 5, is the presidential primary in Tennessee and 16 other states and territories. I wanted to remind you guys to vote the people who most represent YOU into power. If you haven’t already, make a plan to vote today,” she wrote to her 282 million followers in an Instagram story. “Whether you’re in Tennessee or somewhere else in the U.S., check your polling place and times at Vote.org.”
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With the post, Swift has further waded into politics, a topic the immensely popular singer-songwriter deftly avoided toward the beginning of her career, but is further embracing as her popularity and influence have surged. After several states’ primary votes in the earlier months of an election year, Super Tuesday is widely seen as the day when the final race for the presidency takes shape.
This year, the candidates for the two major parties in the U.S. have been fairly clear from the get-go, as President Joe Biden will be seeking reelection and former President Donald Trump has been head and shoulders above all competitors for the top spot on the GOP ticket.
However, Nikki Haley, the Trump’s former ambassador to the United Nations, has remained in the race despite double-digit losses to the former president in all but one race; she won Washington, D.C.’s Republican primary on Sunday, defeating Trump and taking all 16 delegates in that race. She now has 43 delegates nationwide to Trump’s 247. On Super Tuesday, 874 GOP delegates are up for grabs.
Swift, who just shattered records with her billion-dollar-plus earning Eras Tour, has an uncommon influence over fans. In the past, she has made similar get-out-the-vote pushes that have avoided specific endorsements. That changed with a Biden endorsement in 2020, while she openly criticized then-President Trump. Many have waited for a similar statement from Swift during this election cycle, and some are reading between the lines while looking at today’s statement.
“WOW: Taylor Swift has officially begun interfering in the 2024 election. She tells her young female fans to vote the candidate that ‘most represents you into power,’” an X user wrote.
Indeed, the Swift endorsement may be a secret weapon this year, especially for the Biden campaign. With two men in the race whom voters already know well from the 2020 election cycle (and, of course, the decades each spent in the political and media spotlights) and little excitement about either candidate, the key to the race could be turnout. The singer boasts millions of fans, known as Swifties, who have now been encouraged to hit the polls.
This has also led to a false PsyOp conspiracy theory regarding Swift being in cahoots with the Biden campaign that a recent Monmouth University poll showed that one in five Americans believes to be true. The untrue theory has come up in the White House Press Room and was addressed by Biden, who quipped about it being “classified” intelligence while appearing on Late Night With Seth Myers.
On Tuesday, voters will head to the polls in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Virginia; one territory, American Samoa, will also vote.
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