Do celebrities influence Colorado Springs voters?
Here in Colorado, it seems as though Colorado is getting a lot of attention from outside politicians and celebrities alike — w hether it’s Jennifer Lawrence, Bernie Sanders, or John Elway, influential people are looking to sway your vote.
Even Arnold Schwarzenegger is getting in the game, making a stop in Denver last weekend before Sanders’ appearances in Fort Collins and Boulder.
Last night, it was Ben Cohen of Ben and Jerry’s Ice cream trying to scoop up votes for a local politician in Colorado Springs.
“We looked all over the country for the candidates that we felt were the seven best progressive candidates that had a decent shot of winning their election,” Cohen said .
But are these “celebrity” endorsements really that out of the ordinary? Well, not really, especially at midterms. And, can we really call former governors, senators, or even the owner of the Broncos a celebrity?
It’s hard to argue against their influence when they have millions of followers on social media. Schwarzenegger has more than 4 million followers, and Elway has more than a million.
But do voters care?
One voter, Wes Uriarte said, “No, not at all.”
Meagann Dempsey added, “I don’t really like try to let celebrities influence me because sometimes they don’t have the whole picture.”
“Nope, they never have. I like to hear what they have to say but my opinion has always been my opinion,” said Sergio Olivares.
Everyone we asked said celebrities have no influence on their votes. So why do they do it? There’s no way to know, but they do have a platform
Ronn’ye Patterson said, “I mean they have every right to do what they want to do, freedom of speech, whatnot, but they are not going to influence me.”
But one voter, Michael Storey, countered and said this, “I think sometimes they don’t understand exactly the influence they have and if they do, they are taking advantage of it and I think that is wrong.”
Right or wrong, as the election inches even closer, chances are we’ll see more big names in Colorado.
