In the midst of news about the possible indictment of a former president, some of the biggest news in the country has gone unmentioned on the FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast. Yes, we’re talking about pop icon Taylor Swift’s “Eras” tour. When 14 million people simultaneously tried to buy pre-sale tickets last year, Ticketmaster broke down to the point that Congress felt the need to intervene. And on her opening night, Swift broke Madonna’s record for best-attended female concert in U.S. history — 69,000 people gathered in Glendale, Arizona. Pollsters have taken note, using surveys to determine who exactly Swift’s fans are and which of her 10 albums is best regarded. And so in this episode, the crew asks our favorite question about one of America’s favorite musicians: Is this a good or bad use of polling?
The crew then takes a hard turn back into electoral politics. As the informal primary contest between former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis heats up, it appears that Republican primary voters have cooled a little on DeSantis. But they ask a slightly different question: Who do Democrats want the GOP nominee to be, and what does that tell us about how they’re thinking about 2024?
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