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How RNC 2020 speaker Marsha Blackburn beat the 'influence' of Taylor Swift to become Tennessee Senator

As soon as Marsha Blackburn began her RNC speech, people started tweeting about her 2018 feud with Taylor Swift with one writing, 'Did she write a song about how sad she was after Blackburn won?'

Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn shamed the Democratic Party's openness on defunding police departments across the USA, telling the citizens that the left wants to "cancel" the national heroes. “I am here to tell you these heroes can’t be canceled,” she said. “President Trump has stood up for our heroes every day," she remarked during the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, August 26. “If the Democrats had their way, they would keep you locked in your house until you become dependent on the government,” she added.

As soon as Blackburn started her speech at the RNC, people started tweeting about her 2018 feud with Taylor Swift, as one user commented, "Just a reminder that Marsha Blackburn beat Taylor Swift's 'influence' to become the Senator from Tennessee," to which another Internet user replied saying, "Did she write a song about how sad she was after Blackburn won?" Another user said, "Watching Marsha Blackburn reminds me of how hard @taylorswift13 fought to keep her out of office #TrumpChaos." 

Some users even said, "I get a smile every time I see Marsha Blackburn on tv. Tennessee told Taylor Swift to go to hell," and "Marsha Blackburn has a long anti-LGBTQ record, including defending Trump’s ban on transgender service members. No wonder Taylor Swift called her 'Trump in a wig.' #TrumpChaos"

Some users commented, "Hey @taylorswift13- Marsha Blackburn, the Senator you helped win her election, is speaking right now at the #RNCConvention #RNC2020Convention." While one local Tennessean commented, "Yes... but Marsha was a very popular State Rep, and she was also a House Rep for many years (represented MY district). She built her OWN popularity. I'm from Tennessee, and I am a BIG Marsha fan. Taylor Swift is laughed at here. A complete political joke."

During the 2018 elections, Swift broke her political silence when she endorsed Blackburn's Democratic opponent, former Nashville mayor Phil Bredesen, and Democratic Rep Jim Cooper in 2018. Despite a wave of hype and groundswell of voters rooting for Swift following Cooper and Bredesen's Instagram endorsement of two Tennessee Democrats, Swift’s brief foray into politics wasn’t enough to turn the state blue in the city's midterm election. Despite a wave of hype and groundswell of voters rooting for Swift following Instagram endorsement of two Tennessee Democrats, Swift’s brief foray into politics wasn’t enough to turn the state blue in the city's midterm election. After that, she sympathetically urged the people of Tennessee to vote against Republican Senate candidate Marsha Blackburn, an eight-term member of Congress who had linked herself closely to Trumpism, during her campaigns. Swift later endorsed US Senate candidate and former Gov Phil Bredesen, as well as US House of Representatives candidate Jim Cooper.

On October 7, 2018, Taylor shared a lengthy letter on Instagram where she said, "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."

Swift then announced the candidates she does plan to support and asked the voters to educate themselves about the candidates they'll be voting for. She said, "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."

But Swift's anti-endorsement of Blackburn didn't work out. Blackburn won the Tennessee Senate race with 55 percent of the vote and Swift’s favored candidate, Bredesen, earned 44 percent of the votes. This wasn't the end of the feud, as, in January 2020, Swift slammed Blackburn for her conservative stances and likened her to "Trump in a wig" in her new Netflix documentary 'Miss Americana'. In the documentary Swift goes after Blackburn's record as she gets sentimental discussing with her friends and family about wanting to voice her opinions in the 2018 midterm elections, adding that she regrets not speaking out against Donald Trump during the 2016 election.

Later in the documentary, Swift is shown reacting to Blackburn's election victory, saying she "can't believe it." "She gets to be the first female senator in Tennessee, and she's Trump in a wig," Swift says. "She represents no female interests. She won by being a female applying to the kind of female males want us to be in a horrendous 1950s world." Taylor criticized Blackburn for her 2013 vote against the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act and stance against same-sex marriage.