As they say in politics, every vote counts. But when a person has more than 60m Twitter followers, that vote might count for more than others.
Just hours before the latest Democratic debate kicked off, Bernie Sanders received a welcome boost after Ariana Grande shared images of them backstage at her concert with the words “MY GUY”.
The post from the 26-year-old singer may not have been an official endorsement of the 78-year-old senator from Vermont, but it was hard to read it any other way.
“Thank you Senator Sanders for coming to my show, making my whole night and for all that you stand for,” wrote the Grammy-winning artist, behind albums such as Yours Truly and Thank U, Next.
She referred to the work of a project, HeadCount, that is seeking to register voters, particularly young people.
1/22 Bernie Sanders
The Vermont senator has announced that he will be running again in 2020 after losing out to Hilary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primaries. He intends to run on a similar platform of democratic socialist reform
Getty
2/22 Joe Biden
The former vice president – poised to be a frontrunner – has announced his run. He recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well
EPA
3/22 Elizabeth Warren
The Massachusetts Senator has formally launched her bid for president in 2020. A progressive Democrat, she is a major supporter of regulating Wall Street.
Reuters
4/22 DROPPED OUT: Bill De Blasio
The New York mayor announced his bid on 16 May 2019. He emerged in 2013 as a leading voice in the left wing of his party but has struggled to build a national profile and has suffered a number of political setbacks in his time as mayor
AFP/Getty
5/22 Pete Buttigieg
The Indiana mayor and war veteran will be running for president. If elected, he would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history
Getty
6/22 DROPPED OUT: Beto O’Rourke
The former Texas congressman formally launched his bid for the presidency in March. He intends to run on a progressive platform, stating that the US is driven by “gross differences in opportunity and outcome”
AP
7/22 Steve Bullock
The Montana governor announced his bid on 14 May. He stated “We need to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 and defeat the corrupt system that lets campaign money drown out the people’s voice, so we can finally make good on the promise of a fair shot for everyone.” He also highlighted the fact that he won the governor’s seat in a red [Republican] state
Reuters
8/22 Cory Booker
The New Jersey Senator has announced that he will be running for the presidency in 2020. If he secures the nomination he said finding a female vice president would be a priority
Getty
9/22 Wayne Messam
Mayor of the city of Miramar in the Miami metropolitan area, Wayne Messam has announced his bid. He intends to run on a progressive platform against the “broken” federal government. He favours gun regulations and was a signatory to a letter from some 400 mayors condemning President Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord
Vice News
10/22 DROPPED OUT: Kirsten Gillibrand
The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that “healthcare should be a right, not a privilege”
Getty
11/22 Kamala Harris
The former California attorney general will be running for president in 2020. Introduced to the national stage during Jeff Sessions’ testimony, she has endorsed Medicare-for-all and proposed a major tax-credit for the middle class
AFP/Getty
12/22 John Delaney
The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017
AP
13/22 Tulsi Gabbard
The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but is likely to face tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
Getty
14/22 Andrew Yang
The entrepreneur has announced his presidential candidacy, and has pledged that he would introduce a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18
Getty
15/22 Julian Castro
The former San Antonio mayor announced his candidacy in January and said that his running has a “special meaning” for the Latino community in the US
Getty
16/22 Marianne Williamson
The author and spiritual adviser has announced her intention to run for president. She had previously run for congress as an independent in 2014 but was unsuccessful
Getty
17/22 DROPPED OUT: Eric Swalwell
One of the younger candidates, Swalwell has served on multiple committees in the House of Representatives. He intends to make gun control central to his campaign
Getty
18/22 DROPPED OUT: Seth Moulton
A Massachusetts congressman, Moulton is a former US soldier who is best known for trying to stop Nancy Pelosi from becoming speaker of the house
Getty
19/22 Amy Klobuchar
Klobuchar is a Minnesota senator who earned praise for her contribution to the Brett Kavanaugh hearings
Getty
20/22 DROPPED OUT: Jay Inslee
Inslee has been governor of Washington since 2013. His bid centres around climate change
AFP/Getty
21/22 DROPPED OUT: John Hickenlooper
The former governor of Colorado is running on a sensible ticket. He aims to sell himself as an effective leader who is open to compromise and evidences this with his experience as governor
Getty
22/22 DROPPED OUT: Tim Ryan
Ohio representative Tim Ryan will be running a campaign that hinges on his working class roots
Getty
1/22 Bernie Sanders
The Vermont senator has announced that he will be running again in 2020 after losing out to Hilary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primaries. He intends to run on a similar platform of democratic socialist reform
Getty
2/22 Joe Biden
The former vice president – poised to be a frontrunner – has announced his run. He recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well
EPA
3/22 Elizabeth Warren
The Massachusetts Senator has formally launched her bid for president in 2020. A progressive Democrat, she is a major supporter of regulating Wall Street.
Reuters
4/22 DROPPED OUT: Bill De Blasio
The New York mayor announced his bid on 16 May 2019. He emerged in 2013 as a leading voice in the left wing of his party but has struggled to build a national profile and has suffered a number of political setbacks in his time as mayor
AFP/Getty
5/22 Pete Buttigieg
The Indiana mayor and war veteran will be running for president. If elected, he would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history
Getty
6/22 DROPPED OUT: Beto O’Rourke
The former Texas congressman formally launched his bid for the presidency in March. He intends to run on a progressive platform, stating that the US is driven by “gross differences in opportunity and outcome”
AP
7/22 Steve Bullock
The Montana governor announced his bid on 14 May. He stated “We need to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 and defeat the corrupt system that lets campaign money drown out the people’s voice, so we can finally make good on the promise of a fair shot for everyone.” He also highlighted the fact that he won the governor’s seat in a red [Republican] state
Reuters
8/22 Cory Booker
The New Jersey Senator has announced that he will be running for the presidency in 2020. If he secures the nomination he said finding a female vice president would be a priority
Getty
9/22 Wayne Messam
Mayor of the city of Miramar in the Miami metropolitan area, Wayne Messam has announced his bid. He intends to run on a progressive platform against the “broken” federal government. He favours gun regulations and was a signatory to a letter from some 400 mayors condemning President Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord
Vice News
10/22 DROPPED OUT: Kirsten Gillibrand
The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that “healthcare should be a right, not a privilege”
Getty
11/22 Kamala Harris
The former California attorney general will be running for president in 2020. Introduced to the national stage during Jeff Sessions’ testimony, she has endorsed Medicare-for-all and proposed a major tax-credit for the middle class
AFP/Getty
12/22 John Delaney
The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017
AP
13/22 Tulsi Gabbard
The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but is likely to face tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
Getty
14/22 Andrew Yang
The entrepreneur has announced his presidential candidacy, and has pledged that he would introduce a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18
Getty
15/22 Julian Castro
The former San Antonio mayor announced his candidacy in January and said that his running has a “special meaning” for the Latino community in the US
Getty
16/22 Marianne Williamson
The author and spiritual adviser has announced her intention to run for president. She had previously run for congress as an independent in 2014 but was unsuccessful
Getty
17/22 DROPPED OUT: Eric Swalwell
One of the younger candidates, Swalwell has served on multiple committees in the House of Representatives. He intends to make gun control central to his campaign
Getty
18/22 DROPPED OUT: Seth Moulton
A Massachusetts congressman, Moulton is a former US soldier who is best known for trying to stop Nancy Pelosi from becoming speaker of the house
Getty
19/22 Amy Klobuchar
Klobuchar is a Minnesota senator who earned praise for her contribution to the Brett Kavanaugh hearings
Getty
20/22 DROPPED OUT: Jay Inslee
Inslee has been governor of Washington since 2013. His bid centres around climate change
AFP/Getty
21/22 DROPPED OUT: John Hickenlooper
The former governor of Colorado is running on a sensible ticket. He aims to sell himself as an effective leader who is open to compromise and evidences this with his experience as governor
Getty
22/22 DROPPED OUT: Tim Ryan
Ohio representative Tim Ryan will be running a campaign that hinges on his working class roots
Getty
She added: “We’ve already registered 20k+ young voters at my shows alone. Also I will never smile this hard again promise.”
The Florida-born musician, who is 10th on the list of most popular Twitter accounts with 67.4m followers, has never sought to hide her progressive political views, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez once tweeted a set-list that framed “progressive politics as an Ariana dance party”.
Last year, Grande told Elle magazine: “There’s a lot of noise when you say anything about anything. But if I’m not going to say it, what’s the f***ing point of being here?”.
Mr Sanders, who attended her gig in Atlanta, Georgia, which was also the venue of the fifth Democratic Party debate, also posted the images.
“I want to thank Ariana Grande for not only being a wonderful entertainer, but also for being such an outstanding advocate for social justice,” he wrote.
“We must all be prepared – like Ariana has shown – to fight for everyone who is struggling. It was great to meet her in Atlanta last night.”
Mr Sanders wife, Jane Sanders, tweeted her own tribute.
She wrote: “Thank you @ArianaGrande for supporting @BernieSanders’ candidacy for president! Your Atlanta concert last night was incredible!”
