With more than a dozen candidates running for the Republican presidential nomination, it may feel like the party can’t unite over much more than attacking trans people. But Politico reminds us there’s at least one more common ground here: music. The site asked a number of presidential candidates, mostly Republicans, to share playlists, and a bit of surprising overlap emerged (shockingly not over Oliver Anthony). Nikki Haley and Chris Christie both get down to “Mr. Brightsideâ€; Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy sing along to “Joleneâ€; and Christie and Larry Elder enjoy some Phil Collins (“In the Air Tonight†and “Take Me Home,†respectively).
Sorry if those songs are now forever ruined for you, but that’s just the beginning. There are some obvious choices here — of course Vivek Ramaswamy put “Lose Yourself,†of course former Jersey governor Christie put a Springsteen song, and of course someone as boring as Haley prefers Luke Combs’s “Fast Car†cover. But on the other hand, did you know former Texas rep (and CIA officer) Will Hurd listens to Taylor Swift, Destiny’s Child, and Jamiroquai? Or that Elder, the conservative talk-radio host who tried to oust California governor Gavin Newsom, has impeccable taste in soul music? Meanwhile, former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson has only ever heard music at Razorbacks tailgates (judging by his choices of Garth Brooks’s “Friends in Low Places,†Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline,†and P!nk’s “Get the Party Startedâ€). The least surprising thing, though? Ramaswamy really likes Imagine Dragons.