In general, Swift loomed over Blackburn's victory. At a celebration for Blackburn's win, musician John Rich gave a subtle nod to Swift by telling the crowd that Blackburn was "the biggest advocate [musicians] ever had on intellectual property rights." Indeed, as Tennessee's Representative, Blackburn has earned a reputation for advocating for intellectual property rights . She founded the Congressional Songwriters Caucus and served as its co-chair . (Notably, Representative Jim Cooper, whom Swift also endorsed in the midterm elections, serves on the committee for the Songwriters Caucus as well.) A number of conservatives have noted that Blackburn won "despite" Swift's endorsement of Bredesen. But in reality, as of early October, the polls places Blackburn squarely ahead of Bredesen; this was always going to be an uphill battle for the former Tennessee governor. Blackburn served eight terms as a Representative and she's closely aligned herself with U.S. President Donald Trump , a quality that boosted a number of candidates in 2018.