Democrats are leaning on celebrity star power. Will it matter?

WASHINGTON — Kamala Harris has Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift and Beyoncé. Donald Trump has Kid Rock, Waka Flocka Flame and Hulk Hogan.
As the 2024 campaign whirls into its final week, Democrats are noticeably leaning on their star power advantage, calling on a diverse range of celebrities to endorse Harris, invigorate audiences and, they hope, spur people to the ballot box.
Democrats have long enjoyed a celebrity advantage and used it to close out presidential campaigns when attention and energy are critical. That upper hand has grown during Trump’s rise, a period that saw scores of celebrities, even apolitical stars, break their silence and speak out against the Republican leader. The advantage often means raucous, fiery events in the closing days of a race, but history — namely Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign — highlights how the energy at those events can sometimes paper over broader issues with a candidate.
Weeks before the election on Oct. 20, Harris got an assist from music legend Stevie Wonder in Jonesboro, Georgia, who rallied churchgoers with a rendition of Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song.” Days later in Atlanta, Harris and former President Barack Obama headlined a rally that featured a performance by Springsteen and speeches from famed filmmaker Spike Lee and actor Samuel L. Jackson. The campaign followed that up a day later with a rally in Texas featuring a performance by Willie Nelson and a speech from Beyonce.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate, has also benefited from the celebrity push. Singer-songwriter James Taylor performed at events with the governor in North Carolina earlier in the month. And Walz, along with Harris, spoke at an event in Michigan on Monday that included a five-song set from singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers.
“I come for Harris,” said Ashley Oberheide, a neighborhood resident who attended the outdoor Harris rally held in Ann Arbor’s Burns Park. “I love that musical acts are getting behind her, but I am always here for Harris.” She called Rogers an “added bonus.”
Audrey Hudson, a University of Michigan nursing student who voted for the first time days before the rally, described her attendance as “doing a civic duty combined with seeing an artist I love.”
“I’m here to support Kamala and Walz as well but Maggie Rogers, I have loved her music since I was in middle school. She’s had a huge impact on me,” said Hudson, who added that she thinks artists like Rogers are more relatable to young voters and can impact how they vote.
Ann Arbor resident Rachel Lieberman, 29, shared that the rally in her hometown was her third Harris event and that Rogers was a “cherry on top” she believes will help drive out the youth vote.
“I think it’s all part of getting the younger generations mobilized to vote,” Lieberman said.
Harris and Democrats aren’t just leaning on performances at events, either. After Tony Hinchcliffe, a comedian who spoke at Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, called Puerto Rico “a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean,” the Democrat’s campaign received public support from rapper Bad Bunny, Jennifer Lopez and artist Ricky Martin, three of the best known Puerto Rican celebrities. The three have over 300 million followers combined on different social media platforms.
Many of the events are part of Harris’ “When We Vote We Win” concert series that aims to spur supporters to vote early in key battlegrounds. And she is expected to have more high-profile endorsers in the coming days.
When she campaigns in Wisconsin on Wednesday, her rally in Madison will feature performances from Gracie Abrams, Mumford & Sons, Remi Wolf and The National’s Matt Berninger and Aaron Dessner. On Thursday, her rally in Arizona will have Los Tigres del Norte, a famed norteño band originally from Sinaloa, Mexico. And finally, on Friday, Harris will headline a rally in Las Vegas featuring Maná, a Mexican pop rock band originally from Guadalajara, Mexico, and a speech from Lopez.
The 2020 campaign was a celebrity outlier. Because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, large campaign events were uncommon, especially on the Democratic side. Celebrities appeared in social media videos for then-former Vice President Joe Biden, who went on to defeat Trump.
Trump does enjoy the support of celebrities with a deep appeal to his core base of voters, like singer Lee Greenwood, television personality Dr. Phil McGraw and former football stars like Brett Favre, Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell. Country singer Jason Aldean recently spoke at a Trump rally in Georgia and Nick Bosa, a star defensive lineman for the San Francisco 49ers, recently jumped into a teammate’s post-game interview to show a MAGA hat.
But the Republican candidate largely doesn’t have an answer for Harris’ celebrity-infused events. Trump, whose career has turned him into a celebrity, often provides the star power at his events. And when a celebrity like Hinchcliffe makes headlines at a Trump event, it can cause problems for the Republican campaign.
The focus on celebrity events is typified by raucous events in arenas and often leaves Democrats upbeat and hopeful about their chances. But the strategy can also paint over issues: When crowds are juiced by celebrities and musical performances, problems with a candidate’s message or hold on an important base of voters can be obscured, a trend that was highlighted by former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s failed 2016 run.
The final week of Clinton’s campaign eight years ago was a veritable red carpet of musical icons and celebrities. Her final rally as a candidate, a feverish event in North Carolina, was headlined by Jon Bon Jovi and Lady Gaga. Her final event with former President Barack Obama culminated in a performance by Springsteen on Independence Mall in Philadelphia. She capped her campaign in Ohio with a performance from Jay Z and Beyonce in Cleveland. And just days earlier she filled Bayfront Park Amphitheater in downtown Miami, Florida with an eye-popping performance by Lopez.
“We just heard Jennifer perform ‘Let’s Get Loud.’ Well, I say, ‘Let’s Get Loud’ at the voting booth. You can vote early. Don’t wait another day to vote, ” Clinton exclaimed.
The Clinton campaign left each respective battleground state invigorated that the energy they felt at the event could carry them to victory.
Days later, Clinton lost North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida, and then-businessman Trump was elected president.
Associated Press writers Joey Cappelletti and Mike Householder in Ann Arbor, Michigan, contributed to this report.
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