Taylor Swift Fans Are in Their Voting Era as Elizabeth Warren Joins Swifties for Kamala Kickoff

Taylor Swift is known for the “surprise songs” acoustic section of her Eras Tour set, but on Tuesday evening, it was fellow musician Carole King belting out a tune to the delight of thousands of rapt Swifties.

King was one of several speakers on a virtual kickoff call for the grassroots Swifties for Kamala political organizing group, a growing cohort Swift fans who are putting their personal networks, friendship bracelet-making skills, and enthusiasm to work in support of helping Vice President Kamala Harris beat Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.

“Don’t be afraid, there’s too much at stake,” King told viewers, before mentioning that Swift had performed one of her songs at King’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, so she’d need to return the favor, launching into an impromptu a cappella rendition of Swift’s “Shake It Off.”

According to the group’s social media, more than 34,000 viewers tuned in to the call’s livestream on YouTube and Zoom, and before the final sign-off nearly two hours later had raised an excess of $122,000 in donations, released a merch drop benefitting voter registration org When We All Vote featuring “in my voting era” slogans, and King bursting into song. Another notable moment: Sen. Ed Markey calling out “Snow On the Beach” as his favorite Swift track before quoting the radio edit of the song that it’s “weird but beautiful” to segue into climate change talking points and letting that thick Massachusetts accent fly in his pronunciation of both “Karma” and “Kamala.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren spoke on the call as well, shouting out “All Too Well (10-Minute Version)” as her Swift song of choice “when I have time.”

“I want to start with you and what I love best about Swifties,” she said. “You are resilient and you know how to take on bullies and you know how to be your most authentic, most joyful selves. You come together, hand in hand, friendship bracelets on your wrists, and you overcome pretty much anything that life throws at you. That is what the Kamala Harris campaign is all about: It’s about standing up for what is right in the face of bullies like Donald Trump.”

“I feel like we should be playing ‘Applause’ and ‘You Don’t Own Me’ in the background, but there are copyright laws, and we are very careful about that over here, so we are just going to sit in silence,” Irene Kim, who co-founded the group alongside Emerald Medrano, joked at the top of the call, likening the anticipation to the buzz in a crowd before one of Swift’s performances, complete with the signature pre-show soundtrack.