Voters Weigh In on Celebrity Endorsements: ‘I’m Not Going to Base My Political Views Off That’

Celebrities are not shy when it comes to voicing their political opinions, specifically when those views are left-leaning.

Numerous celebrities have tried to make their voices heard in recent weeks in order to make an impact on the upcoming midterm elections.

However, the power of celebrity ads and endorsements may be lower than those celebrities expect.

On Friday night, Laura Ingraham, host of Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle,” spoke with a group of 20 or so voters in Arizona — Democrats, Republicans and independents — about the upcoming elections.

When she asked for a show of hands as to how many votes would be influenced by what a celebrity has said, none of the voters raised their hands.

A young Republican, Alex Phillips, explained why he thought that was the case.

“As much fun as I have seeing Kanye West and Donald Trump in the White House with the hats on, I’m not going to base my political views off that,” he said.

“You can get your mileage out of that, but at the end of the day,” he also said, “you probably shouldn’t make that the be-all and end-all.”

Ingraham also showed the group an ad directed by two-time Academy Award-winning actress Jodie Foster; it encouraged women to vote this November and featured a host of different celebrities including Sophia Bush, Cher, Olivia Munn, and many other celebs. The ad closed with, “if women’s rights are human rights, then vote.”

However, only one woman in the group Ingraham spoke with said such an ad could potentially impact her vote.

“If I wasn’t going to vote or if I didn’t have a vocation, it would probably put a fire under me because all of the misogyny that is around,” the woman said.

This election cycle, there has been a wide variety of celebrities trying to push candidates over the top in tight races.

Notably, both Oprah Winfrey and Will Ferrell, neither of whom are from Georgia, have traveled to the state this week to vouch for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams in her race against Republican Brian Kemp.

Vice President Mike Pence even joked about the celebrity presence in the state at a campaign event last week while backing Kemp: “This ain’t Hollywood!”

He also said, “I’m kind of a big deal, too” — a nod to Ferrell’s role as Ron Burgundy in the hit 2004 movie “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.”

While some of the celebrity endorsements made should not surprise anyone — such as leftist actress Alyssa Milano supporting Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum or Meryl Streep donating $10,000 to Missouri Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill’s re-election bid — others have been a bit more unexpected.

For example, Taylor Swift broke her long political silence to endorse Tennessee Democratic Senate candidate Phil Bredesen, while Willie Nelson angered fans by backing Beto O’Rourke, the Democratic nominee challenging Republican Ted Cruz for his Senate seat.

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Tom Joyce is a freelance writer from the South Shore of Massachusetts. He covers sports, pop culture, and politics and has contributed to The Federalist, Newsday, and other outlets.