Mississippi delegate Kelly Jacobs made 1,000 friendship bracelets with sparkly beads that read “Swifty Voter” and “Kamala” to hand out at the Democratic National Convention.
This year she began making jewelry referencing pop phenomenon Taylor Swift to urge young white women to vote.
“I paid for them, I made them, and then we can go up to a young white girl and say, ‘Are you a fan of Taylor Swift?’” Jacobs said. “And they say, ‘Yeah, so, you want this Swifty voter bracelet?’ And then I ask them to vote on Tuesday, Nov. 5 for whoever they want. So it’s a campaign strategy that’s worked really well. People want the friendship bracelets.”
He said he focused on white women because white voters in his state tend to be Republican.
She spent about $3,000 on materials for the jewelry and had handed out about 100 before the convention began Monday.
Friendship bracelets have become popular at Swift's concerts, where fans exchange them. Democrats are hoping the singer, who has a huge following, will endorse Vice President Kamala Harris. Four years ago, she announced her support for President Biden and Harris by posting a photo with a plate of cookies decorated to look like the running mates' campaign logo.
Kelly Jacobs at the Democratic National Convention.
(Seema Mehta/Los Angeles Times)
Jacobs, who described herself as a community activist under orders from her husband not to be arrested at the convention, wore a homemade dress with large photographs of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and a black hat with Harris' name knitted into it.
“I enjoy wearing political fashion because I'm a white girl and nobody believes I'm a Democrat in Mississippi,” the 65-year-old said, adding that she planned to wear a dress to the convention that features Harris as Lady Justice, with Lady Liberty behind her in the front and Swift in the back.
“The convention is important because a lot of people will be looking for someone who looks like them. And that’s why it’s successful, because we’ll all look so different. We’re not all white-haired men and women, so people will see themselves reflected in the delegates on the floor,” the California native added. “I’m looking forward to my diverse collection of Swifty hats and clothing and Kamala clothing to try to get younger voters who are Swift fans to register.”
