Taylor Swift Comes Out Strong For LGBTQ Rights, Announces Vote For Democrat In Tennessee Senate Race

Taylor Swift (image via Instagram)

Other than some general support for the anti-gun violence movement, pop superstar Taylor Swift has been reluctant to share her political leanings.

Until now.

Sunday night, Swift posted her thoughts on the upcoming midterm elections and how she plans to vote in her home state of Tennessee.

The 28-year-old began by stating upfront her strong support for LGBTQ rights, writing, "I believe in the fight for LGBTQ rights, and that any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender is WRONG."

She goes on to say she has always championed electing women to office, Swift says she cannot bring herself to vote for the woman in the upcoming U.S. Senate race in Tennessee.

"Running for Senate in the state of Tennessee is a woman named Marsha Blackburn," writes Swift. "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 continued. "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."

Swift then announced, "I will be voting for (Democrat) Phil Bredesen for Senate and Jim Cooper for House of Representatives."

She also urged all of her fans to 'educate' themselves, make sure they register (October 9 is the deadline in Tennessee) and specifically spoke to young people.

"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," wrote the international pop-star.

She closed her message with a rainbow emoji and "Happy Voting!"

RealClearPolitics shows Blackburn with an average 2 point lead over Bredesen.

Swift has 112 million Instagram followers and 83.5 Twitter followers.

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

Taylor Swift comes out as a Dem as Kanye is stumping for Trump. Life comes at you fast https://t.co/8au0Ns5nHH

— Astead (@AsteadWesley) October 7, 2018