Taylor Swift’s endorsement of two Democratic Party candidates has reportedly sparked a surge in voter registration for America’s mid-term elections.
Swift broke with her policy of remaining silent on political matters by endorsing two Democrats in her home state of Tennessee and encouraging her fans to register to vote in an Instagram post on Sunday.
Kamari Guthrie, the director of communications for voter registration website Vote.org, told BuzzFeed News the Look What You’ve Made Me Do hitmaker’s announcement had prompted tens of thousands to register to vote in November’s elections.
“We are up to 65,000 registrations in a single 24-hour period since T. Swift’s post,” she said. “Vote.org saw (Tennessee) registrations spike specifically since Swift’s post. Thank God for Taylor Swift.”
The surge means more voters registered in the day following her post than in the entire month of August. Of the 5,183 new voters registering in Tennessee this month, more than 2,100 signed up after the popstar’s statement.
The 26-year-old has condemned Republican Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn, who is running for the U.S. Senate, and endorsed her Democratic opponent Phil Bredesen. She also advised fans to vote for incumbent Democratic Congressman Jim Cooper.
In her Instagram post, Swift cited Republican politicians’ disregard for human rights and her fear of racism as the reason for her intervention, writing: “I cannot vote for someone who will not be willing to fight for dignity for ALL Americans, no matter their skin colour, gender or who they love.”
The singer’s intervention was not well received by the country’s top Republican, U.S. President Donald Trump.
Praising Blackburn, he told reporters at The White House: “I’m sure Taylor Swift has nothing, (sic) or doesn’t know anything about her. And let’s say that I like her music 25 per cent less now, okay?”
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