Star power is being written off as a dead weapon in American politics, bad news for campaigns that spend big on it.

• Celebrity backing does not move votes because it offers no purpose, vision, or gut-level reason to show up.
• Taylor Swift's endorsement is credited with a negative effect in some swing states, including Georgia.
• Kamala Harris drew Beyoncé, Megan Thee Stallion, and a long list of stars, and still lost.
• The pattern goes back decades: Democrats ran concerts with Bruce Springsteen to pull young voters against George W. Bush, and the crowds never turned into ballots.

Outlook: Expect campaigns to lean less on celebrity rallies and more on message and turnout machinery heading into the midterms.