Oprah’s Kamala Harris fundraiser: Does her support swing elections?

Television legend Oprah Winfrey and United States Vice President Kamala Harris shared the stage on Thursday in a fundraising event for Harris called “Unite for America”. Harris is the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate for the November election.

This is not the first time the television personality has voiced support for Harris during this election, she made a surprise speech at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) last month.

Since emerging as her party’s frontrunner for the presidential nomination, and especially since winning that nomination, Harris has secured the endorsements of hundreds of prominent Americans — from Hollywood stars and music icons to her party’s stalwarts and Republicans who say they cannot vote for their party’s nominee, ex-President Donald Trump.

However, few public figures in the US enjoy an aura like Oprah’s. Here’s more about her history of election endorsements and how much those have influenced outcomes.

What was Oprah’s ‘United for America’?

A copper blazer-clad, bespectacled Oprah hosted the more-than-one-hour talk-show-style event.

The event took place in Michigan, a key battleground state in this election. It was livestreamed on the Harris campaign YouTube channel and, as of Friday morning in the US, had already been viewed more than one million times.

Harris walked onto the stage, meeting enthusiastic applause from a studio audience. The two women discussed topics, including reproductive health and Harris’s plans to reduce the cost of housing and to lower taxation.

Big names in the entertainment industry — from Jennifer Lopez and Julia Roberts to Chris Rock and Meryl Streep — joined over video-link.

These celebrities add to the star power around the Harris campaign built by celebrities including Taylor Swift and Charli XCX, when they endorsed the Democrat earlier.

However, the most potent endorsement possibly comes from Oprah herself.

Why is Oprah’s endorsement significant?

A 2013 study conducted by economists Craig Garthwaite of Northwestern University and Timothy J Moore from the University of Maryland found that Oprah’s endorsement resulted in about one million additional votes for Democrat Barack Obama, who has also endorsed Harris, in 2008.

The research found that in addition to votes, her support also helped Obama secure additional funding.

In the election, Obama won with nearly 53 percent of the popular vote.

What is Oprah’s track record with endorsements?

After her first major endorsement of Obama in 2008, Oprah has sporadically endorsed politicians in presidential or senate races.

In 2016, Oprah expressed her support for Democrat Hilary Clinton against Republican Donald Trump in a media interview.

While Trump trailed Clinton in the 2016 polls, Trump won the election. He won the Electoral College, but lost the overall popular vote.

In October 2020, Democrat Joe Biden received a boost from Oprah a month before the election, when she hosted a virtual get-out-the-vote event.

In 2022, the talk show host endorsed Democrat John Fetterman in the Pennsylvania Senate race against his Republican opponent Mehmet Oz, who rose to prominence as a celebrity doctor by appearing on her talk show. Her endorsement took the form of a virtual event, conducted on Zoom.

Fetterman won the race.

But the TV diva’s endorsement is no golden ticket. During the same virtual event in which she endorsed Fetterman, she briefly expressed support for other Democratic candidates for Senate and governor races. These included: Cheri Beasley for North Carolina, Val Demings for Florida, Mandela Barnes for Wisconsin, Catherine Cortez Masto for Nevada, Beto O’Rourke for Texas and Raphael Warnock and Stacey Abrams for Georgia.

Out of these, only Cortez Masto won — the rest were defeated.

Has Oprah supported Trump?

After Oprah endorsed Harris in her DNC surprise speech, she received backlash from Trump supporters and a letter she wrote to Trump in 2000 resurfaced.

Addressing the Republican nominee, she had written back then, “Too bad we’re not running for office,” Axios reported. “What a TEAM!”

In a 2023 CBS interview, Oprah clarified, “I might have thought it back then. I might have thought it 23 years ago. I’m not thinking it today.”

In 2015, Trump had also joked about Oprah running as her vice president in an interview with ABC, only to clarify that he was joking.