Why LeBron’s Endorsement of Hillary Clinton Could Matter on Election Day

When he swooped into the picture and smacked Andre Iguodala’s layup off the glass four months ago, LeBron James produced the pivotal play of the 2016 NBA Finals and undoubtedly one of the signature moments of his remarkable career.

With a single gesture—and immaculate timing—James swung the momentum of the contest in his team’s favor. Not long after, he celebrated a championship victory that rang across the state of Ohio.

With his thoughtful, personal endorsement two weeks ago of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, published in his hometown Akron Beacon Journal, James became the rare superstar athlete at the peak of his career to so publicly pick sides in a national election.

Given his history of involvement in social causes and the nature of an election in which the stakes are increasingly high and the middle ground largely nonexistent, that endorsement hardly came as a shock. Still, there’s no doubt it was noteworthy, especially for someone so closely identified with a swing state like Ohio.

The question is whether it will matter.

   

How It Can

“Endorsements are not about moving voters from one candidate to the other, so the issue is not Trump versus Hillary,” says Joshua Goodman, a vice president at public strategy firm Mercury. “It’s Trump versus Hillary versus not voting.”

Goodman says that particularly given James’ appeal among young and African-American voters—two demographics that generally vote at lower rates than the population as a whole—a strong endorsement has a real chance to mobilize voters who might not otherwise show up on Election Day.

“For LeBron’s fanbase, especially since they skew young,” says Mark Major, a political scientist at Penn State. “That’s where a celebrity endorsement can have the biggest impact—not by changing minds, but in enthusiasm.”

And that, says North Carolina State University political scientist Michael Cobb, is where LeBron’s late endorsement might be a boon for Clinton after all.

“Athletes aren’t necessarily persuasion vehicles, but where they can affect things is mobilization and fundraising,” Cobb says.

Though James’ endorsement was published independently of the Clinton campaign, Cobb says it’s a safe bet there was advance communication between the player’s camp and the campaign about timing and message.

With the start of the NBA season just around the corner, James might not have an opportunity to actively campaign for Clinton, but Cobb says even an endorsement is “great at mobilizing interest and getting people to vote on the margins.”

In a swing state like Ohio, that could matter.

   

Other Voices

Of course, James isn’t the only prominent figure from the sports world to offer an opinion on this year’s race for the White House.

Unsurprising given the league’s racial makeup and relative willingness to embrace social issues, current and former NBA players have led the way: James has been joined by fellow stars and close friends Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul in endorsing Clinton, a move echoed by hoop luminaries from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Chamique Holdsclaw to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.

Trump’s athlete endorsements, by comparison, are heavy on retired baseball players, ex-basketball coaches, NASCAR racers and big names from MMA and pro wrestling. Major says that shouldn’t surprise anyone.

“In the athletic endorsements between Clinton and Trump, what we really find is the American electorate at large. For Clinton, it’s a diverse group, and it tends to skew younger. With Trump, I think Hulk Hogan’s really the symbol for this: older, and very white.”

Besides James, perhaps the most prominent current athletes to publicly back a candidate are a pair of two-time MVPs in their respective sports. Aside from that common thread, Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry and New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady couldn’t be more different.

Asked last month during a session at the TechCrunch conference who he planned to support, Curry offered a one-word answer: “Hillary.” Brady, meanwhile, hasn’t officially endorsed Trump, but he has called the Republican candidate “a good friend” and last year displayed a “Make America Great Again” hat in his locker.

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