Marvel’s Avengers assemble to endorse Kamala Harris

The star-studded cast of Marvel’s Avengers is assembling to endorse Democratic candidate Kamala Harris for the upcoming US presidential elections, which CNN recently called a “near even” race.

A short video posted to Robert Downey Jr’s Instagram handle features a video call initiated by Scarlett Johansson and comprises Mark Ruffalo, Don Cheadle, Chris Evans, Danai Gurira, Paul Bettany and Downey.

Ruffalo also shared it to his X (formerly Twitter) account, stating, “Don’t sit this one out. It’s the one where we will lose big: Project 2025, women’s reproductive rights, climate change, LGBTQIA+ rights, public education, student debt relief, Affordable Care Act, Social Security, and as of today, life saving vaccines. This s**t is real and it’s going to come for you.”

In the video, the Avengers spend some time trying to come up with a catchphrase for Harris, while Ruffalo tries to encourage them to talk about voting. Eventually, the cast settles on “down with democracy”, and as a heroic score plays in the background, each celebrity dramatically reads out the newly minted phrase, while Ruffalo attempts to make them realise that the line is quite the opposite of their intended purpose.

The video is short, sweet and funny, and adds to the expanding list of Hollywood stars openly endorsing Harris for the presidential race. Prior to this, the legendary Oprah Winfrey, and pop royalty Taylor Swift and Beyonce voiced their support, with the ‘Single Ladies’ singer attending and speaking at a rally.

According to the Guardian, in the last week alone Madonna, Bad Bunny, Ricky Martin, LeBron James and the former Republican governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger have all come out in support of Harris.

But, what difference does a celebrity endorsement make?

A 2008 Northwestern University report found Winfrey’s endorsement added a million votes to Barack Obama’s tally. However, a 2010 North Carolina State University report found celebrity endorsements by George Clooney and Angelina Jolie did little to move the political needle.

Ashley Spillane wrote in a study published last month by Harvard’s Kennedy School that non-profits found “higher rates of online voter registration or poll worker sign-ups when a celebrity promotes these calls to action.”

“While some polling shows that people claim they aren’t influenced by celebrity voices when it comes to politics, more rigorous evidence indicates that these voices are incredibly powerful,” Spillane said.