Willie Nelson Endorses James Talarico in Texas Senate Race

The greatest living cultural icon of the Lone Star State has weighed in on the high-profile Texas senate race. In a video released by the James Talarico campaign, Willie Nelson formally endorsed the Democratic candidate running against beleaguered Republican Ken Paxton. 

“Hi, this is Wille Nelson,” the singer, 93, says in the brief video. “I’ve gotten to know James Talarico. He’s a good man who will be a good senator for the state of Texas. Please vote, and vote for James Talarico.”

The endorsement comes as no great surprise. The video was released by the Talarico campaign, which had already associated itself with Nelson prior to the official endorsement. Talarico, who is trying to become the first Democrat candidate to win a statewide election in Texas in over 30 years, appeared with Nelson backstage at the singer’s annual July 4th concert earlier this summer. Nelson wore a Talarico hat in the photo.

It’s also hardly the first time that Nelson has used his voice and waded into recent statewide Texas elections. The country legend proudly endorsed Beto O’Rourke’s senatorial candidacy in 2018, performing at an O’Rourke rally and even releasing a song called “Vote ‘Em Out.” (O’Rourke lost by less than three percentage points to Ted Cruz.) Four years later, Nelson endorsed O’Rourke again in his 2022 gubernatorial campaign against Greg Abbott, which, unlike his race against Cruz, was not close. 

Polls are currently predicting a much closer race than O’Rourke’s narrow 2018 loss, with Talarico showing narrow leads in most polls. But at least one Texas Republican remains confident.

“Willie’s music is great,” Ted Cruz said in a taunting response to Nelson’s Talarico endorsement. “But historically, [a Nelson endorsement] has been the beginning of the end for Democrat campaigns in Texas.”