Oprah Winfrey and Vice President Kamala Harris recently teamed up at an event named “Unite for America” aimed at rallying support for Harris’s presidential campaign as the Democratic candidate for the upcoming November election. This isn’t the first time Winfrey has publicly backed Harris; she surprised many with a speech supporting her at the Democratic National Convention last month.
As Harris has solidified her position as the leading candidate for the Democratic nomination, she has garnered endorsements from a wide array of influential figures, including celebrities from Hollywood and music, as well as some Republicans who cannot support former President Donald Trump, the party’s nominee.
However, few individuals in the U.S. have the sway that Oprah possesses. Her history of election endorsements has shown to significantly impact various outcomes.
The “United for America” event, in which Oprah, wearing a copper blazer and glasses, hosted a one-hour talk-show-style discussion, took place in Michigan, a critical state for the election. It was streamed live on Harris’s campaign YouTube channel and had reached over one million views by Friday morning.
During the event, Harris received a warm welcome from the audience, and the two women discussed important issues, including reproductive rights and Harris’s proposals to cut housing costs and reduce taxes. Celebrities like Jennifer Lopez, Julia Roberts, Chris Rock, and Meryl Streep joined virtually, enhancing the campaign’s star power earlier cultivated by Taylor Swift and Charli XCX.
The significance of Oprah’s endorsement cannot be underestimated. Research from 2013 by economists Craig Garthwaite and Timothy J Moore indicated that her endorsement contributed to approximately one million additional votes for Barack Obama in 2008, as well as helped him secure extra funding for his campaign. Obama ultimately won that election with nearly 53% of the popular vote.
Oprah’s endorsement history includes sporadic support for various politicians since backing Obama in 2008. In 2016, she endorsed Hillary Clinton against Trump, but despite her backing, Trump won the election. In October 2020, she supported Joe Biden through a virtual campaign event. More recently, in 2022, she endorsed Democrat John Fetterman in the Pennsylvania Senate race, which he won.
Nonetheless, Oprah’s endorsements are not a guaranteed success; while she endorsed multiple Democratic candidates in 2022, only Cortez Masto in Nevada secured a win among them.
In the wake of her endorsement of Harris, Oprah faced backlash from Trump supporters, leading to the resurfacing of a past letter she wrote to Trump in 2000 where she remarked, “Too bad we’re not running for office.” In a 2023 interview, she emphasized her changed perspective, indicating that her feelings from 23 years ago are no longer relevant. In 2015, Trump playfully suggested Oprah as a potential vice president, later clarifying it was a joke.