With less than six months until the 2024 general election, both President Biden and former President Trump will be looking for key endorsement moves that could propel them to victory in November.
While experts and voters have raised questions about the influence of these endorsements, figures popular within a party or across the country can serve as essential surrogates for candidates. Although most leading Democrats and Republicans have already endorsed their parties’ presumptive nominees, several more key endorsements could come in the coming months.
Here are some key recommendations to pay attention to this year.
Taylor Swift
One of the most anticipated potential endorsements for the 2024 cycle may be for someone outside politics who Forbes called one of the “most powerful women” in the world.
Taylor Swift has achieved international superstar status in recent years, Sold out concerts in the United States and around the world. And Swift has occasionally ventured into political advocacy.
Swift endorsed Biden Shortly before the 2020 election, she ran for president and said she believed Biden and current Vice President Harris would begin a “healing process” for the country.
She also spoke out against Trump ahead of Election Day 2020, blaming his “ineffective leadership” for worsening the COVID-19 pandemic and “exploiting it to undermine and destroy our right to vote.”
According to reports, Biden’s campaign was I’m actively seeking Swift’s supportand their support could give him a much-needed boost in enthusiasm among younger voters.
Beyonce
Another superstar outside of politics who is probably as influential as Swift is Beyoncé. She already holds the record for the most Grammy wins of any artist and has received even more praise and some backlash for her expansion into country music with her latest album, “Cowboy Carter.”
Beyoncé was more vigorous in politics than Swift. She and her husband Jay-Z helped raise millions of dollars for Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign both performed at a concert Supporting Hillary Clinton just before Election Day 2016.
Beyoncé supported Biden Shortly before the 2020 election, she posted a photo on Instagram wearing a Biden-Harris mask and an “I Voted” sticker on a hat.
If she continues her previous support for top Democratic candidates, it could also appeal to younger voters that Biden needs. It could also aid raise interest among black voters, as many polls show about the president has room for improvement with the enthusiasm of this key group.
Nikki Haley
One of the more unexpected developments of the 2024 campaign was that Nikki Haley stopped brief of endorsing Trump for re-election, at least for now.
Haley notably avoided endorsing Trump when she paused her campaign in March after weeks of increasing tension between the two candidates. Since then, she has received a significant number of votes in the primaries following her exit.
In several states, including key swing states Arizona and Pennsylvania, support was in the double digits, in some cases approaching 20 percent.
Biden has tried to capitalize on this with some social media posts and at least one ad aimed at Haley supporters.
Trump dismissed votes for Haley in the primaries. However, she is the most significant former Republican presidential candidate who has not yet endorsed him. If she avoids supporting him, her supporters could be even more targeted.
Chris Christie
Chris Christie, a close ally of one of Trump’s top opponents, entered the 2024 race already refusing to support Trump should he become the nominee.
He said in February that he would not vote for Trump “under any circumstances.” He keeps the door open to supporting Biden, but signals that he is not yet ready to commit.
Christie said last month that Biden hadn’t reported to him since he dropped out to ask for his support, which he still thinks Biden should do.
He wondered whether Biden’s aides would advise him against it to avoid losing the progressives in his coalition. A Biden campaign spokesperson pointed this out Advertisement The campaign is trying to go to court Non-Trump GOP voters in response.
Although Christie’s presidential campaign didn’t gain much traction, he still represents a faction of Republicans who never voted for Trump and some of whom supported Biden four years ago. An endorsement from Christie could aid Biden hold on to this group and even expand his support from this group.
Mitt Romney
Senator Mitt Romney (Republican of Utah) was among the Republicans in Congress most likely to criticize Trump in both chambers, and he has stated that he will not support Trump this year.
He cast a write-in vote for his wife during the 2016 campaign and avoided voting for Trump again in 2020. In an interview with MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle this month, he said he would not vote for Trump because character was the most essential issue for him.
So far he has not signaled that he would support Biden. But he hasn’t ruled it out either, saying the United States can “survive bad politics” but not someone with bad character running the country.
Romney had previously indicated that he would enter his wife’s name again this year.
Wagoners
An endorsement from the Teamsters, one of the country’s largest unions, could have a massive impact among key working-class voters in some of the key battleground states like Michigan and Pennsylvania.
Teamsters officials have met with several 2024 presidential candidates, including Biden, Trump and independents Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cornel West. The union’s president, Sean O’Brien, said after meeting with Biden in March that the union would likely wait until shortly before the election to approve it.
But O’Brien praised Biden’s support for unions, and the Teamsters supported Biden in 2020 after supporting Hillary Clinton and Obama in previous election years.
Meanwhile, Trump is trying to gain a foothold with union members in the hope that they could outperform him in the states he needs to win.
The Teamsters’ coveted support could be a deciding factor in how these states vote.
