California Governor praised pop megastar for energizing young voters ahead of the presidential election next year, telling reporters she is “using her celebrity for good.”
At the time of his Wednesday comments, Newsom had just watched the at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum in Simi Valley, California. Newsom, a Democrat, attended the debate in his home state to speak in support of President .
While inside the spin room after the seven participating GOP candidates left the stage, Newsom was asked about the impact he thinks celebrities will have on the coming elections.
![Taylor Swift](https://i0.wp.com/regalrumination.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/1704575818_912_taylor-swift.jpg?resize=1200%2C816)
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Newsom began by saying Swift “stands tall and unique.”
“What she was able to accomplish, just in getting young people activated to consider that they have a voice and they should have a choice in the next election, I think is profoundly powerful. And I think she is using her celebrity for good,” Newsom said.
The governor then turned his attention to the Republican backlash over Swift’s recent voter registration push. In recognition of National Voter Registration Day earlier this month, Swift posted a message on social media urging her fans to “make sure” they are registered to vote.
“I’ve heard you raise your voices, and I know how powerful they are. Make sure you’re ready to use them in our elections this year!” , adding a link directing her fans to register by visiting the nonprofit Vote.org website.
Vote.org reported a surge in voter registrations after Swift’s post, according to NPR. The number of newly registered voters was especially high among young people, News reported.
While turnout has historically been low among young voters, the last two midterm elections have seen those numbers rise. Increases in young voter participation is often viewed as positive for . , 68 percent of voters age 18 to 29 voted for Democrats in 2022, compared to 31 percent for .
The Republican Party has also been urging voters to register if they haven’t already and to consider voting early in coming elections, rather than wait to cast their ballot on Election Day. Several ads encouraging early voting aired during commercial breaks in the debate Wednesday night.
Some Republicans have publicly criticized . Sean Davis, co-founder of The Federalist, re-shared an article about Swift that his conservative web magazine published before her voter registration message. He wrote on X, formerly , that Swift “is dumb and her music sucks.” The article had suggested Swift’s popularity is “a sign of societal decline.”
Newsom told reporters Wednesday night that Republicans’ criticism of Swift is “the height of irony” and that it “says everything you need to know about the voter suppression going on in the Republican Party.”
Swift has over the last several years begun sharing some of her political beliefs with the public. In 2019, she said that she . She also spoke out against former President ahead of the 2020 presidential election.
Regalrumination.com reached out to Swift’s label, Republic Records, via email Thursday for comment.