DID TAY ROCK THE VOTE?

Did Taylor Swift play a role in the resounding electoral victories for abortion rights and Democratic candidates on 11/7? Hard to say, but we have a feeling that her message to 275m Instagram followers probably didn't hurt.

The Republic supernova's post to her Stories read as follows: "Voters gonna vote! It’s Election Day! If you are registered to vote in Colorado, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas or Virginia, it’s time to use your voice. Find out what’s on your ballot before you arrive to the polls by visiting vote.org."

The Swift effect was evident in September when the megastar directed potential voters to Vote.org on National Voter Registration Day. The organization reported that 157,041 eligible voters visited the site after Swift’s message, marking the biggest National Voter Registration Day since 2020.

It'll be challenging to correlate the results directly to Swift's latest missive, but we know this: Democrats scored major victories in elections across the country at all levels of the ballot, with abortion a leading topic. In Ohio, voters approved an amendment to enshrine the right to an abortion into the state constitution by a wide, 57-43 margin. It seems clear that women voters were an essential, if not definitive, factor in these wins.

In the reddest of red states, Kentucky's Democratic governor, Andy Beshear, defeated Republican Daniel Cameron 53-47 following months of powerful ads condemning Cameron for his no-exceptions stance on abortion. Meanwhile, Virginia Democrats won full control of the state legislature, holding on to the state Senate and flipping the state House. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin had promoted a 15-week abortion ban in the wake of the Dobbs decision and assumed it would help his party. You can see how that turned out.

And in Pennsylvania, Democrats highlighted abortion in a key race for the state Supreme Court that saw Democrat Dan McCaffery defeat Republican Carolyn Carluccio 53-47.

Of course, Republicans did manage to secure a few wins, but all in all it was a night in which voters made a decisive statement about the direction they want government to take.

How vital were the Swifties to this nationwide rout? How important might they prove to be in 2024's national contests? We shall see. In the meantime, this pink pussyhat is keeping our noggins nice and warm.