Taylor Swift generated headlines after Tuesday night’s debate by endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for president, and experts are already analyzing the pop star’s potential influence on the 2024 election.

“If you self-identify as someone who sees the world like Taylor Swift does, you might go, ‘Huh, maybe I should be voting like that also,'" Marcus Collins, a marketing professor at the University of Michigan and author of the book "For the Culture," told
. "It sort of sends a bat signal for what potentially is acceptable for people like me."

"This kind of social signaling matters to us," he continued. "It helps us figure out who we are, our identity, what we think, how we should act.”

These effects may be subtle but important, Collins said. For example, a conservative Swiftie might find these two identities clashing and start to question their own beliefs.

"Individuals might find themselves in a state of cognitive dissonance, where their personal beliefs and worldview clash with other aspects of their identity," he remarked. "There needs to be a sense of reconciliation."

The pop icon stated on Tuesday evening that she would be casting her vote for Harris "because she advocates for the rights and causes I believe require a dedicated champion."

Swift declared her support for the Harris-Tim Walz ticket after conducting her own research and, in her post, urged her Instagram followers to do the same. She also shared a link to Vote.org, a platform designed to assist people in registering to vote in their respective states.

"She knows that she's speaking to a number of people who will be voting either for the first time ever or for the first time for a president," Megan Duncan, an associate professor at Virginia Tech specializing in political communication, told
. "And she knows that getting that bit of education about how to register and that you can vote early in many states is the stuff that celebrities are effective at."

This isn't the first time Swift has motivated her fans to participate in elections. In 2018 and 2023, she also posted on Instagram about voter registration, resulting in tens of thousands of new registrations in the following days.

Swift's support for Harris should not come as a surprise. While previously maintaining a public apolitical stance, Swift has become more vocal about her political views in recent years. In 2020, she endorsed President Joe Biden and criticized then-President Donald Trump for "fueling the flames of white supremacy and racism" and putting "millions of Americans' lives at risk in an attempt to retain power."

Fans had long anticipated her involvement in the 2024 presidential race. A large segment of her fanbase is young -- primarily millennials and Gen Z -- a demographic known for consistently lower voter turnout compared to older generations and whose members may be first-time voters.

Swift's influence extends beyond young voters. A significant portion of her fanbase belongs to another crucial demographic: white women, over half of whom voted Republican in both 2016 and 2020.

“It’s a huge voter block -- and not only that, but it’s a voter block that we’ve seen be consequential with regards to elections, particularly with Donald Trump," Marcus Collins, a marketing professor at the University of Michigan and author of the book "For The Culture," told
.

How Swift's endorsement will shape the election is yet to be seen, but her message’s reach has already been massive. The General Services Administration told
that, as of 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, more than 330,000 people had visited the voter registration site linked by Swift.

Shortly after Swift's public support, a representative for the vice president stated that Harris was "very proud" to have the singer's backing and that it was an unexpected surprise.