What would a Taylor Swift endorsement mean for Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign?

Is Taylor Swift entering her political era?

Many of her fans are absolutely certain that the Lover singer is (subtly) flying the flag for Vice President Kamala Harris, after uploading a few snapshots from the latest leg of her Eras Tour in Warsaw.

Tucked within the gallery of photos taken from her three shows in the Polish capital was one of Swift, bejewelled in an orange-and-pink leotard, smiling coyly at the crowd. Walking behind her, just within the frame, is a power suit-clad woman waving to adoring fans.

As loyal ‘Swifties’ are wont to do (read: as they have been trained over the years to decode ‘easter eggs’ hidden in everything the singer does), they were convinced that the shadowy silhouette was a stand-in for Ms Harris.

They were certain: keeping that picture in the carousel was a “soft-launched” endorsement of the Harris-Walz ticket.

Unfortunately for fans desperate for Swift to make her allegiances clear, that theory was quickly and very easily debunked. It was not an insert of Kamala Harris but one of Swift’s backup singers strutting downstage.

Although the theory was debunked, the breathless frenzy surrounding the picture confirms one thing: a Taylor Swift endorsement is a hot commodity.

It could be the difference between winning and losing the White House. And the Democrats know it.

Taylor Swift may be Kamala Harris’ white whale

In January this year, the New York Times reported that Taylor Swift was the “biggest and most influential endorsement target” of Joe Biden’s re-election campaign. (Team Biden reportedly considered sending the President to the Eras Tour, according to The Cut)

Now that the presidential nominee baton has been handed to Biden’s Vice President, the Democrats are no doubt angling to add Swift’s voice to the star-studded cast of celebrities backing Ms Harris — including Geoorge Clooney, Cher, Barbra Streisand, Mark Ruffalo, and John Legend, to name a few.

Even Beyonce — whose Renaissance World Tour and Film served as the other side of the pop culture coin to Swift’s Era’s Tour phenomenon — got on board, literally voicing support by giving Democrats permission to use her 2016 song Freedom in Ms Harris’ campaign.

A source told the Daily Mail that Queen Bey, who has not stated her support beyond loaning her song to the campaign, has set aside $4 million to donate to the campaign, “with plans to donate more if she sees the need to”.

The Democratic campaign has seen record-breaking fundraising, a surge in the polls, and found renewed confidence in their chances to get the first woman into the Oval Office.

But Taylor Swift, the Person of the Year with untold influence over millions of young voters, has kept her cherry-painted lips sealed.

The thing is, her political leanings are no secret. In 2020 she told V magazine she would “proudly vote” for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, even baking blue cookies in support of the ticket.

While it is not clear that getting the TS tick of approval sealed the win for the Democrats in 2020, Swift has proven she has the power to move people — whether through song or vague political messages.

And one thing is for sure: this election, perhaps more than ever, will be decided by voter turnout.

When their idol says jump, Swifties say ‘how high’

Swift dabbled a political call to arms to her 272 million Instagram followers in September 2023.

She wrote: “I’ve been so lucky to see so many of you guys at my US shows recently. I’ve heard you raise your voices, and I know how powerful they are. Make sure you’re ready to use them in our elections this year!”

The post included a link to Vote.org, which reported a 1226 per cent jump in traffic an hour after Swift’s post. The site recorded 13,000 users clicking through every 30 minutes, and 35,000 new voter registrations.

The 35,252 new registrations on National Voter Registration Day were the most since 2020, the organisation reported a 23 per cent jump from the previous year. The number of 18-year-olds registered was more than double those in 2022.

Those 35,000 voters may seem like small-fry in the scheme of the 260 million-odd Americans eligible to vote in the 2024 election. But it is three times the number of votes Donald Trump wanted Georgia’s secretary of state to “find” to help him win the state during the 2020 election.

Whether the inspired Swifties vote red or blue does not matter, what matters is that they vote/ and Swift clearly has power over Americans to get over their political apathy and head to the polls. To Shake It Off, if you will.

Swift returns State-side in October, right at peak election time. And fans will no doubt have eagle eyes for endorsement easter eggs.

But if Taylor Swift is going to endorse the would-be first woman POTUS, she won’t be cryptic. She’ll go big. Bigger than one picture in a carousel. Maybe even as big as inviting the VP on for a guest appearance during her power suit-clad performance of The Man.