With the 2024 general election less than six months away, both President Biden and former President Trump will be eyeing critical endorsements that could put them over the top in November.
While experts and voters have raised questions about the influence of these endorsements, figures who are popular with one party or the country at large can act as key surrogates for the candidates. Although most top Democrats and Republicans have already backed their parties’ presumptive nominees, several other major endorsements may come in the upcoming months.
Here are some key endorsements to watch for this year.
Taylor Swift
Perhaps one of the most anticipated potential endorsements of the 2024 cycle is for an individual outside of politics whom Forbes called one of the world’s “most powerful women.”
Taylor Swift has achieved international superstar status in recent years, selling out concerts across the United States and the world. And Swift has occasionally ventured into political advocacy.
Swift endorsed Biden for president shortly before the 2020 election, saying she believed Biden and now-Vice President Harris would start 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 “taking advantage of it to subvert and destroy our right to vote.”
Biden’s campaign has reportedly been actively seeking Swift’s endorsement, and her support could give him a much-needed boost in enthusiasm among younger voters.
Beyoncé
One other superstar outside politics with arguably just as much influence as Swift is Beyoncé. Already holding the record for the most Grammy wins of any artist, she has gained even more praise, along with some backlash, for her expansion into country music with her most recent album, “Cowboy Carter.”
Beyoncé has been more active in politics than Swift. She and her husband, Jay-Z, helped raise millions of dollars for Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign, and both performed at a concert supporting Hillary Clinton just before Election Day 2016.
Beyoncé endorsed Biden just before the election in 2020, posting on Instagram a photo of her wearing a Biden-Harris mask and an “I voted” sticker on a hat.
If she continues her past support for top Democratic candidates, it could also provide appeal to younger voters Biden needs. It could also help to boost interest among Black voters, as many polls show the president has room to improve with this key demographic’s enthusiasm levels.
Nikki Haley
One of the more unexpected developments of the 2024 race has been Nikki Haley holding off — at least for now — on endorsing Trump for reelection.
Haley notably avoided endorsing Trump when she suspended her campaign in March after weeks of increasing intensity between the two candidates. Since then, she has received a not-insignificant number of votes in the primaries following her departure.
She has received double-digit percentages of support in various states, including the key swing states of Arizona and Pennsylvania, and in some cases approached 20 percent.
Biden has sought to capitalize on this, with some social media posts and at least one ad directed toward Haley supporters.
Trump has brushed off the Haley primary votes. But she remains the most significant former Republican candidate for president to not have endorsed him yet. If she avoids backing him, her supporters could be even more up for grabs.
Chris Christie
From a close ally to one of Trump’s top opponents, Chris Christie entered the 2024 race already refusing to commit to supporting Trump if he became the nominee.
He said in February that he would not vote for Trump “under any circumstances.” He has kept the door open to supporting Biden, but signaled he isn’t ready to commit yet.
Christie said last month that Biden had not reached out to him since he dropped out to ask for his support, which he said Biden should still do.
He wondered if Biden’s staff were advising him against it to avoid losing progressives in his coalition. A Biden campaign spokesperson pointed to the campaign’s ad trying to court non-Trump GOP voters in response.
Although Christie’s presidential campaign didn’t gain much traction, he still represents a faction of never-Trump Republicans, some of whom backed Biden four years ago. An endorsement from Christie could contribute to Biden holding on to and even expanding his support from that group.
Mitt Romney
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) has been one of the congressional Republicans most willing to criticize Trump in either chamber, and he has said he won’t support Trump this year.
He cast a write-in vote for his wife during the 2016 race and avoided voting for Trump again in 2020. He told MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle in an interview this month that he will not vote for Trump, saying character is the top issue for him.
So far, he hasn’t signaled that he would endorse Biden. But he also hasn’t ruled it out, and has said the United States can “survive bad policy” but can’t survive someone with bad character running the country.
Romney had previously indicated that he would write in his wife’s name again this year.
Teamsters
An endorsement from the Teamsters, one of the largest labor unions in the country, could be highly influential with key working-class voters in some of the major 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 closer to the election to make an endorsement.
But O’Brien did praise Biden’s support for unions, and the Teamsters did back Biden in 2020, after having supported Hillary Clinton and Obama in past election years.
Meanwhile, Trump has been trying to make inroads among union members, hoping they could put him over the top in the states he needs to win.
The coveted endorsement from the Teamsters could be a key determinant in how those states vote.
