‘Kamala is a relaxing thought’: Swifties for Kamala raise $100,000 for the Harris campaign
An estimated 27,000 Swifties gathered last night, not for the Eras Tour, but to rally for the election of Vice President Kamala Harris.
Swifties logged onto Zoom, streamed on YouTube, X / Twitter, and Instagram to hear fellow Taylor Swift fans, politicians like Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senator Ed Markey, organizers including Annie Wu Henry and Indivisible’s Kim McMurray, and Carole King make Swiftian puns and encourage Swifties to mobilize. The group raised over $ 100,000 over the course of the two-hour call.
The fans operate independently of Swift, aiming to leverage their organizing skill set as fans for Harris. Rohan Reagan, a representative for Swifties for Kamala, told Cosmopolitan last week: “We are not waiting on Taylor to show her support for Kamala Harris. We are doing this outside of her, using the platform of Swifties as a way to get people involved in the election. Taylor did throw her support toward Joe Biden during the 2020 election, so it is possible that she’ll show her support again. But Swifties for Kamala aren’t waiting for her to do that.”
While Swifties actually have mobilized for Harris, her opponent has faked that support. Former president Donald Trump recently took to Truth Social to share AI-generated images of both Swift and Swifties claiming to have their vote.
Swifties for Kamala’s Zoom rally took inspiration from the record-breaking Win With Black Women call that took place the night President Joe Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president. The weekly call saw a whopping 44,000 participants, a huge spike from their first 90 person call in 2020, and raised $ 1.6 million in just three hours.
Inspired by the Win With Black Women, Win With Black Men hosted their own four-hour call the following night. The coalition drew 53,000 attendees and raised $ 1.3 million. Three days later 164,000 women logged on for the White Women: Answer The Call! Show up for Kamala Harris Zoom call, raising over $ 8.4 million. White Dudes for Kamala held their own Zoom rally as well with 190,000 in attendance where they raised $ 4 million.
Swifties for Kamala, while providing a fun space for fans to get involved in campaigning, has yet to make the impact of other more established voting blocks. But as Senator Warren said, there’s still 69 days and 144 ‘All Too Well’ (10 Minute Versions) in a day.
