Taylor Swift breaks her political silence, endorses Democrats in passionate post on midterm elections

By Deena Zaru

Taylor Swift — the notoriously apolitical pop star — broke her political silence Sunday night in a passionate and lengthy Instagram post, where she endorsed a Democratic candidate for Tennessee Senate and urged Americans to vote in the upcoming midterm elections.

"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," the ten-time Grammy Award winner wrote. "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."

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

Swift, who said she plans to vote in Tennessee, voiced her support for LGBTQ and women's rights and condemned Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn, who is running for Senate -- even issuing a pair of passionate endorsements for Blackburn's Democratic opponent Phil Bredesen for Senate, and one for Democratic House candidate, Rep. Jim Cooper.

"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," Swift wrote. "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 Rep. Jim Cooper for House of Representatives."

Bredesen thanked the pop star for her endorsement, tweeting, "I’m honored to have your support and that of so many Tennesseans who are ready to put aside the partisan shouting and get things done."

Thank you for the kind words @taylorswift13. I’m honored to have your support and that of so many Tennesseans who are ready to put aside the partisan shouting and get things done. We’re ready for it. Last day to register to vote is October 9. https://t.co/6Xd6YyaJCG pic.twitter.com/CatUBkXPKe

— Phil Bredesen (@PhilBredesen) October 8, 2018

ABC News has reached out to the Blackburn campaign, but a request for comment was not immediately returned.

Swift's comments about women's rights come on the heels of Justice Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court on Saturday amid protests after a contentions fight over his nomination, which was marred by allegations of sexual misconduct from three women.

Kavanaugh and his first accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, testified before the Senate about an alleged assault that occurred while the two were in high school. The newly-confirmed justice has denied all the allegations.

"Please, please educate yourself on the candidates running in your state and vote based on who most closely represents your values," Swift wrote, urging her young fans who have just turned 18 to register to vote in November.

"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," she wrote, directing her fans to visit vote.org.