Taylor Swift endorsement of Kamala Harris gets young Chicago-area voters excited about election

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Taylor Swift's endorsement of Kamala Harris for president, which she posted to her Instagram less than half an hour after the ABC debate with Donald Trump ended, has energized young voters in the Chicago area.

Since the endorsement, online searches for voter registration have skyrocketed and many of her fans, from Millennials to Gen Z-ers, said this is the boost the Harris campaign needed.

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"Her documentary series, 'Miss Americana,' she talks about, like, the next time there's something like this, I'm going to scream it from the rooftops, my political stance," said fan Abbey Ryan Durso, owner of Abby Ryan Art Studio.

In her post, Swift explained Harris "fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them." She signed the post, "Childless Cat Lady."

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Durso, who hosts several Taylor Swift-themed art classes for kids, said the pop singer's influence is instrumental in getting young people engaged in politics.

"It's important for the youth to be like extremely educated from a young age, just knowing that they have rights and they can have opinions," she said.

That's true for first-time voter Josue Rios, a Leo Catholic High School senior who just registered at a Chicago event.

"I didn't want to initially vote, but I was encouraged to vote because my vote is my voice," he said.

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According to Google Trends data, there was a huge spike in online searches for voter registration around 10:12 p.m. in Chicago, just around the time Swift made her political views known to her 283 million Instagram followers.

In the last 24 hours, searches for "Taylor Swift voter registration" are up 700%.

"She is also encouraging other people to do their own research for who to vote for," Rios said.

"She's somebody who kids can kind of look up to, and if they hear her like talking about politics and speaking on it, they'll definitely like follow and agree," said Keith Smith, Leo Catholic High School student.

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And the Swift impact is even leaving an impression on fans not quite old enough to vote in 2024 like 15-year-old Gabriel Sims, who listens to Swift on his cross country runs.

"Most of her songs make you feel upbeat and happy," he said.

While these students say Swift is influential, they still want to see more from the candidates on the issues that hit close to home, like student loans.

"I would be the first one in my family to go to college," Rios said. "So scholarships are a really big deal to my family and me."