Politics

Taylor Swift's political Instagram post appears to spur voter registration

October 9, 2018 / 10:02 AM EDT / CBS/AP

Taylor Swift breaks political silence, supports Democrat candidates in Tennessee

Singer Taylor Swift's Instagram announcement that she's supporting Tennessee's Democratic Senate candidate Phil Bredesen has apparently caused a spike in voter registrations, both nationwide and in Tennessee, where Bredesen faces a close race against Republican Marsha Blackburn for Sen. Bob Corker's seat.

According to the group Vote.org, Swift's post to her 112 million Instagram followers seems to have "helped bring out young voters." "A majority of new registrations since Sunday have been from people between 18 and 29 years old," the group said in a release Tuesday. About 64,000 out of the 105,000 total new registrations nationwide since Sunday are in this age group.

For the month of October so far, 153,978 people have registered to vote. In the entire month of September, 190,178 people registered to vote.

In Tennessee, voter registration for October has already outstripped September registration figures. At this point, 5,183 have registered in Tennessee, compared to 2,811 for September.

The pop star -- who lived for several years in Tennessee -- told her Instagram followers that she couldn't support Blackburn because her "voting record in Congress appalls and terrifies me." Swift added, "These are not MY Tennessee values." Swift objects to Blackburn's opposition to certain LGBTQ rights and her vote against the Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act in 2013.

Blackburn's campaign did not immediately return a request for comment.

View this post on Instagram

I’m writing this post about the upcoming midterm elections on November 6th, in which I’ll be voting in the state of Tennessee. In the past I’ve been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinions, but due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, I feel very differently about that now. I always have and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for the human rights I believe we all deserve in this country. I believe in the fight for LGBTQ rights, and that any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender is WRONG. I believe that the systemic racism we still see in this country towards people of color is terrifying, sickening and prevalent. I cannot vote for someone who will not be willing to fight for dignity for ALL Americans, no matter their skin color, gender or who they love. Running for Senate in the state of Tennessee is a woman named Marsha Blackburn. As much as I have in the past and would like to continue voting for women in office, I cannot support Marsha Blackburn. Her voting record in Congress appalls and terrifies me. She voted against equal pay for women. She voted against the Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which attempts to protect women from domestic violence, stalking, and date rape. She believes businesses have a right to refuse service to gay couples. She also believes they should not have the right to marry. These are not MY Tennessee values. I will be voting for Phil Bredesen for Senate and Jim Cooper for House of Representatives. Please, please educate yourself on the candidates running in your state and vote based on who most closely represents your values. For a lot of us, we may never find a candidate or party with whom we agree 100% on every issue, but we have to vote anyway. So many intelligent, thoughtful, self-possessed people have turned 18 in the past two years and now have the right and privilege to make their vote count. But first you need to register, which is quick and easy to do. October 9th is the LAST DAY to register to vote in the state of TN. Go to vote.org and you can find all the info. Happy Voting! 🗳😃🌈

A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on Oct 7, 2018 at 4:33pm PDT

Swift also said she was supporting Democrat Jim Cooper for the House. The pop star didn't acknowledge Bredesen's recent endorsement of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, but said people may never find a candidate or party with whom they agree completely on every issue.

"Thank you for the kind words ... I'm honored to have your support and that of so many Tennesseans who are ready to put aside the partisan shouting and get things done. We're ready for it," Bredesen tweeted Sunday in response to Swift's post.

On Monday, President Trump weighed in on Swift's endorsement of Bredesen, and he quantified how much less he likes Swift's music now. After defending Blackburn, he told reporters Monday, "I'm sure Taylor Swift has nothing or doesn't know anything about [Blackburn]. And let's say that I like Taylor's music about 25 percent less now, OK?"

In her post, Swift advised her fans to register to vote and to "educate yourself on the candidates running in your state and vote based on who most closely represents your values."

She added: "So many intelligent, thoughtful, self-possessed people have turned 18 in the past two years and now have the right and privilege to make their vote count."

Swift also reminded voters that the deadline to register in Tennessee is Tuesday. "October 9th is the LAST DAY to register to vote in the state of TN," she wrote. "Go to vote.org and you can find all the info."

Ed O'Keefe contributed to this report.

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