Taylor Swift breaks political silence in favour of Democrats

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8 October 2018

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Taylor Swift has spoken out politically for the first time, publicly endorsing two Democrats for the upcoming US mid-term elections.

The 28-year-old says events in "the past two years" have meant she's no longer reluctant to share her views.

The singer wrote on Instagram: "I always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for the human rights I believe we all deserve."

The elections are on 6 November.

taylorswift •

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taylorswiftI’m writing this post about the upcoming midterm elections on November 6th, in which I’ll be voting in the state of Tennessee. In the past I’ve been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinions, but due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, I feel very differently about that now. I always have and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for the human rights I believe we all deserve in this country. I believe in the fight for LGBTQ rights, and that any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender is WRONG. I believe that the systemic racism we still see in this country towards people of color is terrifying, sickening and prevalent.
I cannot vote for someone who will not be willing to fight for dignity for ALL Americans, no matter their skin color, gender or who they love. Running for Senate in the state of Tennessee is a woman named Marsha Blackburn. As much as I have in the past and would like to continue voting for women in office, I cannot support Marsha Blackburn. Her voting record in Congress appalls and terrifies me. She voted against equal pay for women. She voted against the Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which attempts to protect women from domestic violence, stalking, and date rape. She believes businesses have a right to refuse service to gay couples. She also believes they should not have the right to marry. These are not MY Tennessee values. I will be voting for Phil Bredesen for Senate and Jim Cooper for House of Representatives. Please, please educate yourself on the candidates running in your state and vote based on who most closely represents your values. For a lot of us, we may never find a candidate or party with whom we agree 100% on every issue, but we have to vote anyway.
So many intelligent, thoughtful, self-possessed people have turned 18 in the past two years and now have the right and privilege to make their vote count. But first you need to register, which is quick and easy to do. October 9th is the LAST DAY to register to vote in the state of TN. Go to vote.org and you can find all the info. Happy Voting! ???

Taylor, who in June gave a speech in Chicago offering "love and respect" to LGBT people who haven't yet come out, will be voting in historically Republican state Tennessee.

"I believe in the fight for LGBT rights, and that any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender is wrong," she published to her 112m followers.

"I believe that the systemic racism we still see in this country towards people of colour is terrifying, sickening and prevalent."

Taylor Swift Image copyright Getty Images

What are the US mid-terms?

Taylor spoke out against the Republican candidate who is currently elected in her home state.

"As much as I have in the past and would like to continue voting for women in office, I cannot support Marsha Blackburn. Her voting record in Congress appalls and terrifies me," she wrote.

"She voted against equal pay for women. She voted against the Reauthorisation of the Violence Against Women Act, which attempts to protect women from domestic violence, stalking, and date rape."

One of the candidates endorsed by Taylor, former Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen, backed Brett Kavanaugh's controversial successful Supreme Court nomination.

Tennessee usually sides with President Donald Trump's Republican party, but recent polls suggest the result there could be close.

The reaction

The Instagram post has had more than a million likes, while users on Twitter used Taylor's letter as an opportunity to speak on one of her historical foes - Ye (formerly known as Kanye) West.

They remembered Ye's pledge to run for president.

Some expressed confusion at the way the two artists' political opinions have developed.

KB ✔ @KaraRBrown If you had told me two years ago Kanye would be running around in a MAGA hat while Taylor Swift was endorsing democratic candidates, I would have smacked you to the ground and stolen your wallet for wasting my time.

And others threw back to that infamous moment at the 2009 MTV VMAs.

Scott Dworkin ✔ @funder Taylor Swift just took the mic from Kanye.

Taylor's comments came the day after Kanye once again deleted his social media profiles.