Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign has been defined by exactly the thing that Taylor Swift sang that she was sick of: Running as fast as she can. A historically short presidential run demands creative strategies to reach voters where they are, which is why the Democratic National Committee is surrounding Swift’s Eras Tour shows in Miami this weekend with Harris messaging.
When the Swiftie faithful descend on Florida beginning Friday for the singer’s three-night run of shows at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium, they’ll be greeted by billboards around the city welcoming them to their “Voting Era” and the country’s “Kamala Era,” directing audiences to the DNC’s IWillVote.com website, where voters can check their voter registration, find their polling place, learn about early and mail voting options, and more. On Sunday, boat billboards near the venue will be added to the push.
All weekend in Florida and seven battleground states, too, Snapchat users will be able to share selfies with a custom “In My Voting Era” filter, where users will be prompted to choose what they are “fearless for” this November, with options like reproductive rights, racial justice, student loan debt relief, LGBTQ+ rights, and more, to customize their shareable social photo. The filter, too, will point to the voting info website.
“We know that it’s not just Floridians, but people from across the country who come to these concerts, and that her fans tune in live nationwide, DNC Communications Director Rosemary Boeglin tells Vanity Fair by phone. “We’re trying to reach some of the key coalitions that are important to get Vice President Harris, Governor Tim Walz, and Democrats up and down the ballot elected this November,” she said. “We’re trying to be creative and strategic about how we’re reaching not just young voters, but women, the LGBTQ community, and other voters who are big fans of Taylor Swift, and drive them to IWillVote.com.”
The push around the final leg of Swift’s wildly successful Eras Tour is yet another example of the party trying to reach voters through non-traditional media outlets. A rally featuring Harris’s running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, streamed alongside a World of Warcraft campaign on Twitch, treating gamers to the Democrats’ messaging and courting the crucial Blood Elf vote. Earlier this week, Harris sat for a radio interview with Charlamagne tha God, a little over a week after talking about abortion on Call Her Daddy, and there’s Walz talking to the We Rate Dogs guy. The Dems have even taken to the sky in recent days to promote Harris, employing skywriters to puff out Harris 2024 messages above several NFL stadiums during games.
“We need to be innovative about how we’re reaching young people in particular,” Boeglin says. “We live in a fractured media environment.”