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Taylor Swift fans attempt to tip the scales in Virginia gubernatorial race but fall short

Kylie Mar
·Host & Producer, Yahoo Entertainment
·2-min read

On Tuesday's Daily Show With Trevor Noah, correspondent Desi Lydic interviewed a group of Taylor Swift fans in Virginia to find out if they were the key to the state's gubernatorial race between incumbent Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin.

During his campaign, McAuliffe ran ads targeting Swift fans, also known as the Swifties, in which he attacked Youngkin, because he was the CEO of The Carlyle Group, the private equity firm notorious for being involved with Scooter Braun in the purchase of Swift's master recordings. According to ABC News, one of the targeted ads read, "Did you know that Republican candidate for governor, Glenn Youngkin, helped buy Taylor Swift's masters out from under her when he was co-CEO of Carlyle Group?"

It was a smart move on McAuliffe's part, as Swift has a huge fanbase. Who can forget when Swift inspired 65,000 of her fans to register to vote within 24 hours of posting on her Instagram in 2018?

"Could this new base of voters actually tip the scales in Virginia," asked Lydic.

One Swift fan named Molly shared, "I'm originally from Texas, and the last three years in college, I voted in Texas, but I just knew that I couldn't just sit by and watch as Youngkin took Virginia. That's when I decided to change my voter registration." Another fan named Keirsten also shared, "I was in a weird college area as well, where I was voting in my home state, but now I am voting in Virginia because of this issue."

When Lydic asked the girls what they would say to boomers who say 14-year-old girls should stay out of politics, Nicole stated, "I think that's a weird stereotype of Taylor Swift fans. We're not 14 anymore. We're adults. We pay taxes and vote," while Molly asked, "Do you want to see my thesis paper about congressional legislation? I can show you that. Don't underestimate Swifties."

Unfortunately for the Swifties who showed out, Youngkin defeated McAuliffe. But it's safe to say this isn't the last time we'll see political activism from Swift fans.

The Daily Show With Trevor Noah airs weeknights at 11 p.m. on Comedy Central.

Watch Rachel Maddow claiming Glenn Youngkin had 'free help' from Fox News in the Virginia gubernatorial race:

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