COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Paul Simon made Gahanna his Graceland last month when he showed up there to campaign for US Senate nominee Tim Ryan.
As Ohio’s political campaigns near the finish line on November 8, a slew of high-profile celebrities — from the songwriting industry to Star Wars — have signed their support for Buckeye State’s Republican and Democratic nominees for statewide office.
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“When celebrities bring attention to candidates or votes, it allows for more coverage, more exposure, and potentially those candidates to reach a new set of voters to reach out to,” said Jen Miller, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio.
The Gahanna Democrats and Friends invited Simon, a 12-time Grammy Award winner from New Jersey, to go to a screen with Ryan on September 24 and speak to voters “about the importance of voting blue this fall.” the group said in a press release.
The 80-year-old songwriter’s visit to Gahanna adds him to a list of other popular names rallying behind the Ohio Democrats. Mark Hamill, known for playing Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars film series, made a phone call to Ryan’s campaign in September.
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And a slew of “The West Wing” cast members — Martin Sheen, Allison Janney and Bradley Whitford — signed on to a Zoom event on Sept. 23 in support of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Nan Whaley.
While celebrity endorsement in non-competitive races is unlikely to draw much attention, a politician’s alliance with a celebrity could transform election results in races where candidates are separated “only by a handful of votes,” according to the professor emeritus of Ohio State University Political Science said Paul Beck.
“When Paul Simon or some other celebrity catches my eye as a voter, you say, ‘Well, if Paul Simon is for that person, so should I be,'” he said.
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With a majority of independent polls positioning the race between Ryan and Republican opponent JD Vance as a neck-and-neck race, Beck said it’s possible celebrities could move the needle in the Ohio race for the US Senate.
Music, in particular, has a unique way of resonating with voters, according to Catherine Turcer, executive director of Common Cause Ohio, who recalled in an email when Simon’s 1972 hit “Mother and Child Reunion” was about the Loudspeaker blared when she turned 30 years earlier.
“Music is such an emotional connection and concerts can put candidates in a favorable light,” she said.
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Regarding the state’s GOP contenders, Ohio Republican Party spokesman Dan Lusheck said in an email that their candidates “stand primarily on their own records and ideas that benefit the people of Ohio.” . Using celebrities as crutches is not necessary for an Election Day victory, he said.
“Democrats with crappy balance sheets and zero ideas love to recruit liberal celebrities to make up for their failures as candidates,” Lusheck said.
While Republican candidates in Ohio may lack the endorsement of singer-songwriters, Beck said they make up for it with President Donald Trump’s stamps of approval.
The former commander in chief and his son Donald Trump Jr. have been making their rounds campaigning for Gov. Mike DeWine’s re-election campaign. And Republican nominee for the US Senate, JD Vance, received coveted confirmation from President Trump in May, leading the author of “Hillbilly Elegy” to victory in a crowded Republican primary.
“Supporting Donald Trump is much more important because he has a political following and as a result is able to identify and endorse candidates who have a good chance of winning the party’s nomination,” Beck said.
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Though Miller said it’s too early to tell if celebrity involvement will affect Ohio candidates’ campaigns, there are many anecdotes that show the impact a celebrity can have on voters.
When pop and country singer Taylor Swift took to social media to encourage her followers to vote in 2018, Nashville-area nonprofit Vote.org announced that it received 200,000 new voter registrations within days of Swift – mainly in the 18-25 age group Call to action.
“From my point of view,” Miller said, “it’s great to have celebrities stand up for the vote because Ohio democracy will work better the more people participate.”
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