Maricopa County District Attorney Rachel Mitchell wrote a surprise announcement on X, formerly Twitter, with permission from former Arizona Diamondbacks running back Randy Johnson.
He says he’s “proud” to support him, and for some stupid reason, while he’s saying thank you, Mitchell throws a line about crime in Seattle that I don’t think anyone will understand or understand. don’t care
The important thing is, Mitchell won’t show you Johnson’s face and quote him if he doesn’t believe that the Big Branch can help him get votes.
So, will you do that?
Voters say celebrity endorsements don’t matter
In this day and age, you’d have to say that this kind of thing started with Frank Sinatra.
During the 1960 campaign for president, Ol’ Blue Eyes – the biggest music and movie star of his era – re-recorded his hit “High Hopes” with the lyrics of promoting the candidacy of John F. Kennedy.
“Everyone votes for Jack / Because he has what everyone else needs ….”
Celebrity endorsements, big and small, have abounded since then. However, if you believe what regular people tell researchers about such things, you will wonder why.
USA Today published an article recently that cited a national survey it conducted with Suffolk University in which respondents said political endorsements from celebrities, including stars such as Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, were not influential. of voting.
These knowledgeable, well-intentioned, community-minded men and women are … liars. At least a little bit.
There is something called the Oprah Effect
And I don’t blame them. No one will believe that they can vote for a politician because some Hollywood A-listers are supporting the campaign.
And it’s true. I don’t think any one endorsement means everything to a voter. But I also can’t say it doesn’t mean anything.
The people we love and respect have an influence on us, either to confirm what we already believe or to manipulate us beyond our inclination.
That’s why former wrestler Hulk Hogan and singer/rapper Kid Rock showed up for Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention. (At least, I think that was the plan. It turned out more scary than cool.)
Several economists from the University of Maryland did a study a while back where they concluded that Oprah Winfrey’s endorsement and support for Barack Obama gave him nearly a million votes. There’s a name for it, now, when celebrity endorsement boosts sales or popularity.
It’s called the Oprah Effect.
It is dangerous to post your picture online
Actors, singers, movie stars and other celebrities take advantage of the campaign to promote a candidate. They work in jobs where image means everything. Taking risks from fans is no small feat.
Back in 2016, Diamondbacks’ World Series shortstop Luis Gonzalez did a television campaign ad for Sen. John McCain of the US.
Johnson’s approval of Mitchell is less obvious, but still something.
Mark Kelly has VP experience:You won’t get it to start over
And it’s good for him.
I don’t always agree with popular voters, but I applaud them for publicizing their politics. We are Americans, after all. We are allowed.
Sometimes politicians try to reduce the support shown to opponents by celebrities. They’ll say things like, “We care more about ordinary people than famous people.”
That is also a lie. If they didn’t care about celebrities endorsing the opposition, Trump’s MAGA opponents would be focusing on conspiracy theories and criticizing Taylor Swift, just like they did last time at the ball. feet.
Will Swift sing ‘You Belong with Me’ to Harris?
Support them THE WAY turn off.
Maybe because the last time he supported Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, he has become even more popular since then.
Getting a celebrity endorsement during a close campaign can be a game changer.
So, Mitchell is more than happy to have a campaign fastball thrown his way by Randy Johnson.
And I think Kamala Harris’ team dreams every night about a campaign ad featuring some pop star singing, “You Belong with Me.”
Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.
For more opinion content, please subscribe.
#Taylor #Swift #Randy #Johnson #Arizona #election