Midterm election results: Taylor Swift-endorsed Democrat fails to win Tennessee Senate seat

Zamira Rahim
Updated

Taylor Swift's support for the Democrats' Senate candidate in her home state of Tennessee was unable to deliver a victory after he lost to Republican rival Marsha Blackburn.

The singer broke her long-held silence on politics in October when she endorsed Phil Bredesen, a former governor of the state.

"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," Swift wrote in an Instagram post, written almost a month before the elections.

Swift said that the Republican's voting record on issues such as LGBT+ rights "appals and terrifies me", adding she would like to support women in office but "I cannot support" Ms Blackburn.

Swift faired better with her endorsement of Jim Cooper, a Nashville Democrat who defeated his Republican challenger to return to the House of Representatives.

View this post on Instagram

I’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! 🗳😃🌈

A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on Oct 7, 2018 at 4:33pm PDT

Voter registration spiked following the singer's intervention but Ms Blackburn, a staunch conservative, took the Senate seat on Tuesday.

She is the first woman to represent the southern US state in the Senate.

Ms Blackburn's win is not a surprise, with Tennessee long considered a safe Republican seat.

The state has voted for GOP candidates in presidential elections since 2000.

In 2016, 60 per cent of voters in Tennessee supported Donald Trump.

As the result in Tennessee became clear, Laura Ingraham, a right-wing anchor at Fox News, tweeted "hey taylorswift13, haters gonna hate. #shakeitoff".

Additional reporting by agencies