Is Taylor Swift finally big enough to affect the election?

Later this month, thousands of members of a massive international constituency plan to join a conference call in support of Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential bid. Other such calls have convened Black women, White men, Republicans and even (in a nod to past comments from Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance) cat ladies. But the group getting on the phone in a couple of weeks might have an influence that those others don’t.

A “Swiftie,” as you probably know, is a fan of musician Taylor Swift. Swift is one of the most famous celebrities in the world and has a (probably immeasurably) huge base of fans. Once President Joe Biden announced that he was no longer going to seek the Democratic nomination for president, some of Swift’s fans formed an ad hoc group to support his replacement. The effect might be that, six years after Swift first dipped her toes into politics, her fans could help swing a presidential election.

One reason that’s the case is that Swift’s profile has fairly recently skyrocketed. Google searches for her name were relatively steady until 2020, peaking with awards shows or album releases. With the launch of her Eras Tour last year, it surged. Swift has never been the focus of more search interest than she was in February of this year — the month of the Super Bowl in which her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, was playing.

YouGov polling shows that Swift’s favorability has increased since 2018 as well. In October that year, right about the time that she offered her endorsement of a (ultimately unsuccessful) Democratic candidate for Senate in Tennessee, 46 percent of Americans viewed her favorably. In January of this year, that had climbed to 54 percent. Swift is now viewed favorably by most American men, women and Democrats. Her favorability improved among independents and Republicans, too, and surged in particular among younger Americans.