Kamala Harris campaign leans into celebrity influence with Bon Iver, Megan Thee Stallion

EAU CLAIRE — Before Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz took the stage for their rally in western Wisconsin, they brought up an act they hoped would resonate with Midwesterners: Grammy award-winning indie folk band Bon Iver.

“This is a pretty good showing for Wisconsin, I’d say,” frontman Justin Vernon said to a crowd estimated at 12,000. “We all know what we’re here for, so we’re going to do our thing, make this music, and make way for the people we need to hear from.”

The performance is the latest in a star-studded lineup following Megan Thee Stallion’s vocals at Harris’ Atlanta rally. In a historic campaign that has turned into a 90-day sprint to the finish line, politicians are looking to mobilize celebrity performances and pop culture influence to drum up voter enthusiasm.

Both parties have used celebrity influence to attract enthusiasm within the electorate. The Republican National Convention in Milwaukee included performances by Kid Rock, Lee Greenwood and Chris Janson and celebrity appearances from Amber Rose, Hulk Hogan and "Chrisley Knows Best" TV personality Savannah Chrisley.

Kamalahq has 3.2 million followers on TikTok, while Trump has 9.8 million and Vance has 126,400. While Trump has more followers, the Harris campaign’s videos have more than twice the number of likes, indicating a higher engagement rate.

Alyssa Van Duyse, 47, an attendee at the Eau Claire rally, said “It just makes sense” to pair music with “such a great platform.” She considered herself a Bon Iver fan and attended the first year of Vernon’s Eaux Claires Music Festival in 2015. Vernon, who was born in Eau Claire and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in 2004, wrote much of the band’s first album "For Emma, Forever Ago," from his father’s Wisconsin cabin.

“These musicians came out of the woodwork in support of her, and I think that says a lot about what a great sacrifice President Biden made in stepping down and also Harris taking the lead.”

Bon Iver has a history of political engagement, including performances for Bernie Sanders in 2016 and 2020 and a 2018 show in Madison supporting U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin. Vernon also spearheaded the For Wisconsin voting initiative that launched in 2020.

After playing “Towers,” “666” and Flume,” the band finished with an interpretation of "The Battle Cry of Freedom” the Civil War era song written as a rallying cry for unionism and abolition.

“For him to come back and support the Democratic Party like this, it’s really impressive,” Van Duyse said of Vernon. “He’s been like this for as long as the Chippewa Valley has known him.”

Megan Thee Stallion promotes 'Hotties for Harris'

During Megan Thee Stallion’s July 30 performance, the performer endorsed Harris with her catchphrase “Hotties for Harris” before singing an edited version of “Girls in the Hood” and several other viral hits.

“Now, I know the ladies in the crowd love their bodies, and if you want to keep loving your body, you know who to vote for,” the rapper said before launching into her single “Body.” Afterward, Atlanta rap star Quavo introduced Harris on stage.

The performance in Eau Claire on Wednesday, for a crowd that had stood for hours in scorching heat, was notably less energetic. But voters at the rally said they appreciated seeing a local Wisconsin artist take center stage.

“We were wondering if there was going to be any musicians that came on today, just because they had Megan Stallion,” said Kate Schmidt of Madison “I've actually wanted to see Bon Iver, so this is really cool.”

Schmidt said apathetic voters might be swayed to get more involved after hearing the political opinions of music artists.

“It might get some people excited to maybe vote for the first time who haven't done it, especially when they hear that maybe their favorite musician has a thought about it,” Schmidt said.

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Almost no one will cast a vote because of a celebrity endorsement alone, according to Michael Wagner, a professor of journalism and mass communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. But he said endorsements serve other purposes, like energizing blocks of voters, earning free media attention and shaping a narrative about the campaign.

"When the stories are about Kamala Harris being Brat and Tim Walz Midwestern dad memes, they aren’t about the things that candidates would rather not answer questions about on the campaign trail," Wagner said.

Harris’ campaign has played into pop culture with its Gen Z base on social media, posting edits of Harris to popstar Chappell Roan’s hit song “Femininomenon” on TikTok, making videos with popular audio trends and creating similarly inspired merchandise. It even rebranded its Twitter to “Kamala hq” with a Brat-inspired banner image and bio that read “providing context” following internet pandemonium over pop star Charli XCX proclaiming Kamala as “brat” in a tweet.

Molly Greenshields, who drove from Minneapolis on Wednesday, donned Roan's “Midwest Princess” hat at Wednesday's Eau Claire event. The Harris campaign site released a camouflage hat with “Harris Walz” in bright orange font after Gen Z Twitter suggested a similar hat to Roan’s merchandise.

“I wore my Chappell Roan hat for the Midwest princess theme, and Tim Walz is kind of a Midwest princess,” Greenshields said, adding that she thinks the outreach will help with the youth vote. “What they’re doing with TikTok, with social media and popular people in pop culture, it’s all going to be helpful.”

During the performance, Vernon sported the same “Harris Walz” hat, and the band later posed wearing them in a photo with Walz’s daughter, Hope. In a Twitter post, Walz said “@BonIver, you made my kid Hope’s day. (Which means you made mine too.)”

Sam Weinberg, the executive director of the liberal youth group Path to Progress, said the live performances will energize young and older voters alike. He said Harris and Walz are beating the Trump Vance ticket when it comes to the celebrities, pop culture and internet game.

“They have washed-up semi-celebrities like Scott Baio and Kid Rock. We’ve got Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, George Clooney, and literally hundreds more A-listers. Pop culture, almost by definition, is inclusive and pluralistic, so it makes sense that the party of tolerance, inclusivity and optimism is ahead in that regard,” Weinberg said.

Republicans, meanwhile, reveled in the impact model, and influencer Amber Rose had defending Donald Trump during the RNC in Milwaukee, leading Democratic strategist and CNN commentator Van Jones to call it the "most effective" speech of Day 1 at the RNC, and the "most dangerous" for Democrats.

In Marquette's new poll release, the largest difference in support for Biden and Harris was among young voters, who indicated higher levels of support for Harris. Among those under 30, Harris performs 11 points better than Biden.

The largest performance yet could come at the Democratic National Convention from Aug. 19-22 in Chicago. The DNC hasn't yet announced who will perform.

Chesnie Wardell of the Journal Sentinel and USA Today contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Kamala Harris campaign leans into celebrity influence with Bon Iver