26% of Americans say influencers have swayed their vote. Political campaigns are racing to win them over.
YouTuber Jake Paul joined President Trump for an Ohio rally ahead of the midterm elections.
Aaron Schwartz/Stringer/Getty; BI The battle for voters in the 2026 midterm elections is playing out on the TikTok For You Page.
One in four Americans say creator content has influenced who they voted for.
Political candidates are scrambling to connect with more creators in order to reach voters.
Content creators are influencing much more than our coffee orders and skincare routines.
About one in four Americans (26%) say influencer content has affected who they've voted for, according to a survey of around 2,000 US adults conducted by Morning Consult in September, shared exclusively with Business Insider.
Creator content is an "underestimated avenue" for political campaigns, said Nicole Dunger, a founding partner at the marketing firm People First, which works with candidates and advocacy groups on their creator strategies.
"It is a real player and a big player in this space now." If 2024 was the podcast election , 2026 is shaping up to be the influencer one.
Instagram and TikTok creators have joined Fox News hosts and personalities like Joe Rogan as go-to sources of information for voters.
Influencers like Jake Paul and Hasan Piker have emerged as main characters in politics this year.
Paul recently joined President Donald Trump in Ohio for a midterm rally, posting TikTok clips of his Air Force One flight.
Piker, meanwhile, has become a campaign ally for progressives like Michigan's Abdul El-Sayed and a negative talking point for Fox News commentators.
As online attention has become a key asset in politics , influencers are helping candidates break through the noise.
A little over half of US adults (56%) told Morning Consult that creator content had affected their views on political or social issues to some degree.
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