Pop superstar Taylor Swift’s endorsement of a Democratic Senate candidate in Tennessee didn’t amount to much.
Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn was called as the winner just a few minutes after polls closed, easily defeating HER Democratic opponent, former Gov. Phil Bredesen.
Before the election, the 28-year-old singer — who had not previously weighed in on politics — said Blackburn had a voting record that “appalls and terrifies” her.
The move may not have been all that well thought out. Bredesen angered Democrats and rabid liberals by announcing that he would have supported Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination for the Supreme Court, declaring that there was no evidence to support last-minute sexual assault allegations against him.
The hardcore left MoveOn immediately pulled its support after Bredesen’s announcement. “We’re cancelling a planned six-figure digital video ad expenditure for Phil Bredesen in Tennessee due to his Kavanaugh position. And similarly will be pulling all planned campaigning on behalf of Joe Manchin in West Virginia if he votes yes. Kavanaugh is unfit for the Court,” MoveOn.org wrote on Twitter.
In a lengthy post on Instagram about a month before the election, Swift said she could not support Blackburn because of her record of voting against women and the LGBT community.
“Her voting record in Congress appalls and terrifies me. These are not MY Tennessee values. … I always have and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for the human rights I believe we all deserve in this country. I believe in the fight for LGBTQ rights, and that any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender is WRONG. I believe that the systemic racism we still see in this country towards people of color is terrifying, sickening and prevalent,” she wrote.
Just before Election Day, Swift pleaded with fans to vote, saying, “I’m seeing a lot of underestimation of young voters and this new generation who now have the right to vote just in the last couple of years, but these are people who grew up post 9/11, they grew up with school shooting drills at their schools.”