Can Celebs Sway Voters?

In the 22 months of this election season,
celebrity endorsements have generated a great deal of buzz, the most
highly publicized being Oprah Winfrey’s support of Democratic candidate
Barack Obama. But beyond the hype and media fanfare, do celebrity
endorsements actually make a difference?
Poll
after poll, conducted by Gallup, Pew and CBS News, suggest that they
don’t matter to the overwhelming majority of voters. But many experts
say poll numbers may not accurately reflect the real impact that big
names can have on a campaign.
A
CBS News poll conducted last September revealed that 78 percent of
people expected celebrity endorsements to have no affect on the
election, while nine percent said endorsements would make people less
likely to vote for a candidate. .But celebrities do make their mark during
election season, according to a Washington State University study
published last week in the Mass Communication and Society journal.
"Celebrity
endorsed campaigns successfully lowered complacency and helped young
people believe in their own impact on the political system," the study
reported. "Young people got involved at higher levels and became
increasingly aware of societal issues."
The
study found that an increase in young voter participation could be
attributed to the work of celebs, and looked at the influence of
star-studded "get out and vote" campaigns in 2004 involving Beyonce
Knowles, Christina Aguilera, Sean “P. Diddy” Combs' famous “Vote or
Die” mantra, and others.
David
Jackson, a political science professor at Bowling Green State
University in Ohio, has also done significant research on the
connection between entertainment and politics, conducting a study of
18- to 25-year-olds to find out how celebrity endorsements of certain
political ideas affect them.
“We know celebrity endorsements matter,” Jackson said. “Getting people to admit it — that’s another story.”
It
would be a rare occasion for a McCain supporter to turn around and
become an Obama supporter simply because a celebrity told him to do so.
But, says Jackson, people who weren’t planning on voting or were
undecided could be persuaded by celebrities to get out and vote.
“What
we’ve found is that popular positions are made more popular by
celebrities, and unpopular positions are made more unpopular,” Jackson
said. “There’s not much persuading.”
The
marriage between star power and politics has a long history, and, some
experts say, can have an overall impact on an election.
Hollywood history
Celebrity
endorsements go back to the presidential election of 1920, when actor
Al Jolson organized Broadway stars in support of Republican candidate
Warren Harding, who became the 29^th president in a landslide victory.
The
relationship between Hollywood and Washington, D.C., became even
stronger by 1932, according to Steve Ross, a historian whose
forthcoming book, “Hollywood Left and Right: How Movie Stars Shaped
American Politics,” looks at the connection through the years.
“By
this time, a majority of celebrities were getting involved
politically,” Ross said. “For people like Melvin Douglas and Gene
Kelly, it wasn’t just about the box office anymore; it was about coming
out as responsible citizens.”Celebrities embraced an even greater role in
the 1940s when they became campaign roadies, traveling with candidates
and speaking at rallies.
“Republicans
and Democrats realized this was much better than just endorsements,”
said Ross. “Letters from committee chairmen show that they would expect
1,000 people at a rally, but when they had a Humphrey Bogart or a
Lauren Bacall speak, 10,000 people would show up. They would come for
the celebrity — but end up hearing the candidate as well.”
Charlton
Heston actively campaigned for Richard Nixon in 1972 as a member of the
group Democrats for Nixon. He continued to endorse Republican
candidates with Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. “[Heston] was a key
figure in getting Bush elected in 2000,” said Ross. “He helped the
Republicans get swing states like West Virginia by mobilizing [National
Rifle Association] members.”
Polls
don’t seem to reflect much of an influence nowadays. An October 2007
Gallup Poll revealed that only 8 percent of Democrats were more likely
to vote for Obama because of Oprah’s endorsement; 81 percent said it
had no affect.
So what is the disconnect?
“The
media asks the wrong question. ‘Do celebrity endorsements influence who
you vote for?’ Political insiders know that’s a stupid question,” Ross
said. “The question should be, ‘Do celebrity endorsements make you pay
more attention?’ ”