In election, Hollywood is about cash

Andrew Marszal, Agence France-Presse

Stars from Taylor Swift to George Clooney are flocking to endorse Kamala Harris, but celebrities are unlikely to move the needle when it comes to voters and are seen by insiders as more effective at fundraising. Harris enjoys long-standing support in Los Angeles, and "Kamala-mania" has rocketed in the US entertainment capital since she replaced Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket, according to Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, a Hollywood producer and prominent fundraiser.

"The enthusiasm feels like the first cycle of (Barack) Obama," she told AFP, via e-mail. "That is not to say that other presidential campaigns, particularly Hillary Clinton, didn't have incredible enthusiasm, but this feels transformational."

The question of how to channel that celebrity stardust is a delicate matter. It can have a minimal or even adverse effect. "There's not a lot of evidence to suggest that they make any difference in terms of endorsement of candidates," said Mark Harvey, associate professor at University of Saint Mary and author of "Celebrity Influence: Politics, Persuasion, and Issue-Based Advocacy." Clumsily worded posts from liberal-leaning idols can actually "be alienating," he added.

A soon-to-be published academic study found a hypothetical "vote Democrat" post from Swift would make her undecided fans "actually less likely to want to show up to the polls," while a non-partisan post would boost voting likelihood, Harvey said. Swift's recent Instagram post attempted to strike a balance, saying she would vote for Harris but asking fans to make their own choice — and adding a link for vote registration. "Celebrities generally don't have meaningful impact on changing people's voting, but they can be incredibly important in driving fundraising, and probably should also be utilized more for driving voter registration," said Goldsmith-Vein.

Harris is due in Los Angeles on Sunday for her first major fund-raising event in the city since taking over the ticket. California is traditionally a cash cow for Democrats, and the party's latest nominee has unusually deep roots in Hollywood, still owning a home in the nearby neighborhood of Brentwood.  Harris was introduced to her entertainment lawyer husband Doug Emhoff by director-producer Reggie Hudlin and his wife, and is close friends with Disney television boss and potential future CEO Dana Walden.

She enjoyed out-sized Hollywood support and donations in her successful races for California attorney general and US senator — as well as her failed bid for the presidential nomination in 2019.

"Abbott Elementary" star Sheryl Lee Ralph is hosting a Los Angeles event for the Harris Victory Fund on Thursday. And last week, Jennifer Lopez, Meryl Streep and Ben Stiller beamed in remotely to lavish praise at a virtual rally for Harris hosted by Oprah Winfrey.

A search of federal donation records shows actors including Laura Dern, Danny DeVito and Bob Odenkirk have all donated since Harris became the nominee.  But "the biggest money comes from corporate Hollywood," including studio and streaming company heads, said Steven J. Ross, author of "Hollywood, Left and Right." These traditionally have given equal amounts to Democrats and Republicans "to kind of play it both ways just in case," he said.

Still, an event for Biden in June featuring Clooney, Julia Roberts and Jimmy Kimmel raised a record-breaking $30 million.

"Historically, Hollywood has been far more aligned with the Democratic Party, and that is no different in this election," said Goldsmith-Vein.

When it comes to advocacy, celebrities may struggle to tell fans how to vote. But they can bring awareness to "non-wedge" issues — particularly if they have expertise in that area, and utilize the talents that made them famous, said Harvey. "You're not going to convince people to give up their guns or change their mind on abortion," he said. But "you think about Bono from U2 being an extremely effective advocate for AIDS research, for debt relief in the developing world... he's able to make really strong academic, economic arguments, but at the same time, use music and whatever emotional tools he's got."

So, would Swift be more useful logging off Instagram and showing up at a Harris rally or fundraiser to play a song or two?

"I really believe that's the case," said Harvey. "People are going to go pay money to go see their favorite people do the things that they like to see them do."