Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Taylor Swift's fan base is increasing in swing states

Taylor Swift
Ashok Kumar/TAS24/Getty Images

Nevins is co-publisher of The Fulcrum and co-founder and board chairman of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund.

On Feb. 1, I posed a question to readers of The Fulcrum: “ Could Taylor Swift be the biggest election influencer of them all?

I pointed out that the youth vote will be a critical factor in determining the winner of the 2024 presidential election. Yet paradoxically many believe that, due to the advanced age of the two likely nominees, young voters simply won’t show up to vote on Election Day.

The response to the writing was considerable. Some readers told me they believe a pop star should not be involved in politics and others suggested that I was exaggerating the impact Swift would have if she were to endorse Biden.


With those reactions in mind, I did some research and found that Swift's fan base is increasing in the swing states, where Google searches for the pop star increased by 216 percent in the past year, including Michigan (228 percent). The two other states with the biggest increases were solidly Republican Florida (219 percent) and Iowa (273 percent).

This data reveals how Swift and her growing fanbase could influence the U.S. election, with 225 electoral votes up for grabs in the swing states. Narrowing things down, four of the five so-called tossup states saw higher than average searches for Swift, especially in Wisconsin (282 percent increase).

So how could this affect the election?

There has been speculation that the Democratic Party might use Swift to gain votes, but to date there is no indication that she is considering entering the fray. Even so, Donald Trump supporters have pledged a “holy war” against Swift, whose high-profile romance with Kansas City Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce has brought her to the attention of the NFL fanbase.

In today's world of social media, megastardom has taken on a new yet not fully realized power. In her book Politics for the Love of Fandom,” author Ashley Hinck examines the phenomenon she terms "fan-based citizenship" in today's social media world.

She describes fan activism as "public engagement that emerges from a commitment to a fan-objector, in other words, a civic action that stems from participants' fandom experience and fan values, rather than from traditional religious or social institutions such as a church or political party.”

This powerful new fandom is something to be considered in the 2024 election. As Hinck writes, "To ignore fan-based citizenship would be to ignore a central part of contemporary public culture" and the realization that "online communities are increasingly serving as a source of community, public values, and ultimately, citizenship performances."

Before the 2020 election Swift lashed out at Trump for his late-night tweet threatening violence against protesters in Minnesota, saying the president had been “stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism [his] entire presidency.”

That tweet received nearly 2,000,000 likes.

Fast forward to Super Tuesday 2024. On March 5, we got a glimpse of the potential power of a Taylor Swift endorsement as she used an Instagram story to encourage her more than 282 million followers to vote.

“Today, March 5, is the Presidential primary in Tennessee and 16 other states and territories,” Swift, who has a home in Tennessee, wrote.

“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,” Swift continued. “Whether you’re in Tennessee or somewhere else in the US, check your polling places and times at vote.org.”

Whether this is a precursor of more involvement in the coming months remains to be seen.

Read More

Where’s Athlete Activism During Trump’s Second Term?

Antoine Bethea #41 and Rashard Robinson #33 of the San Francisco 49ers raise their first during the anthem as Eli Harold #58 while teammates Colin Kaepernick #7 and Eric Reid #35 take a knee, prior to the game against the Dallas Cowboys at Levi Stadium on October 2, 2016 in Santa Clara, California.

(Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images)

Where’s Athlete Activism During Trump’s Second Term?

Despite the 2016-17 NFL season featuring Tom Brady and the New England Patriots’ iconic 28-3 comeback over the Atlanta Falcons in the Super Bowl, the retirement of legendary quarterback Peyton Manning, and the emergence of Joey Bosa as one of the top defensive players in the league, one monumental event stands above the rest: Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the national anthem in the heart of Donald Trump’s first term to protest racial injustice and police brutality in the United States.

Kaepernick spawned one of the most talked-about protests in the history of American sports, leading to national conversations about police brutality while earning himself severe backlash in the process.

Keep ReadingShow less
Political Spectacle: Sydney Sweeney’s “Great Jeans”

A digital advertising display featuring US actress Sydney Sweeney is seen outside an American Eagle store in Times Square in New York City on August 4, 2025.

Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images

Political Spectacle: Sydney Sweeney’s “Great Jeans”

What began as a denim campaign has morphed into a political spectacle, with far-right groups, conservative commentators, and progressive critics all weighing in on Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle ad. The slogan—“Sydney Sweeney has great jeans”—was interpreted by many as a pun on “genes,” sparking accusations of racial messaging and white supremacist undertones.

- YouTube youtu.be

Keep ReadingShow less
A Place for Women of Color: Woman Made Gallery

Building a Home Out of Dirt (2018)

A Place for Women of Color: Woman Made Gallery

While the Trump administration seeks to erase places for those with historically marginalized identities, Woman Made Gallery offers more than representation—it offers response. Through exhibitions like the most recent Acts of Care, the gallery creates an intentional space where women, women of color, and nonbinary artists don't have to ask for permission to belong—they build that belonging themselves. As a nonprofit rooted in justice and community dialogue, Woman Made Gallery continues to model what inclusive, women-of-color-led spaces can look like: ones that honor lineage, complexity, and care as forms of resistance.

For Program Coordinator Corinne Pompéy, the mission of Woman Made Gallery is more than just representation—it’s about creating an entry point for connection and care. “Our goal is to ensure women and nonbinary artists are seen in the art world,” she said. “But more than that, we want people to feel something when they walk in—whether that’s reflection, joy, or even release.”

Keep ReadingShow less
House Committee on Homeland Security Discusses Public Safety During the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics

Witnesses are sworn in at the House Committee on Homeland Security hearing, Tuesday, July 22, 2025.

(Medill News Service/Erin Drumm)

House Committee on Homeland Security Discusses Public Safety During the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics

WASHINGTON— Police leaders from cities across the United States that have experienced deadly attacks at major gatherings urged Congress Tuesday to provide adequate federal funding to cities hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Olympic Games.

Security concerns were top of mind for law enforcement officials at a House Committee on Homeland Security hearing as the United States prepares to host mass events with millions of international travelers for its 250th anniversary and the FIFA World Cup, which will hold games in 11 cities across the country in 2026. The United States will also host the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Keep ReadingShow less