Willie Nelson Endorses Talarico in Texas Senate Race
Country music legend Willie Nelson is once again shaking up Texas politics. The 93-year-old icon has endorsed Democrat James Talarico in the Lone Star State’s U.S. Senate race, where Talarico is challenging Republican Ken Paxton ahead of the November 3 election.
The endorsement emerged on October 8 via a short video shared with the Houston Chronicle. Seated in a kitchen and wearing his trademark red bandana, Nelson addressed the camera directly and urged Texans to vote for Talarico, saying: “I’ve gotten to know James Talarico. He’s a good man and will be a good senator for the state of Texas.”
A Familiar Alliance
The two already share history. Talarico appeared onstage with Nelson at his annual Fourth of July Picnic in Austin earlier this summer, and the Talarico campaign quickly pushed the endorsement across its Team Talarico social media accounts.
Nelson didn’t stop at the Senate race. He also recorded videos backing two other Texas Democrats — gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa and lieutenant governor candidate Vikki Goodwin.
Music Stars Line Up Behind Talarico
Nelson isn’t the only music star in Talarico’s corner. The Chicks (formerly The Dixie Chicks) posted an Instagram photo wearing “I’m a Talafreako” T-shirts, and Eagles co-founder Don Henley threw his weight behind Lone Star Rising, a super PAC supporting Talarico’s Senate bid. Henley has also been a major financial backer of Democrats running for other statewide offices.
The endorsement coincided with the launch of “Rural Texans for Talarico,” a campaign initiative aimed at communities outside Texas’ major cities — focused on internet access, recruiting and retaining health care workers, and the impact of data centers on rural communities.
Nelson’s Long Political History
Politics is nothing new for Nelson. He performed on the White House’s South Lawn for President Jimmy Carter back in 1980, and he previously backed Democrat Beto O’Rourke’s 2018 challenge to Republican Senator Ted Cruz. O’Rourke joined Nelson at that year’s Fourth of July Picnic, playing guitar during the closing portion of the set, and Nelson headlined a free O’Rourke campaign rally at Auditorium Shores in Austin that September. Of O’Rourke, Nelson once said: “Beto embodies what is special about Texas, an energy and an integrity that is completely genuine.”
When boycott threats followed the 2018 endorsement, Nelson brushed them off in a tour-bus interview with Stephen Colbert, calling it people’s “prerogative” and adding he might not like their music either — no grudges held. He pointed to his history of performing for candidates across the spectrum, from Dennis Kucinich and Ross Perot to Tex Ritter.
Backlash From Conservative Fans
This time, the reaction was swift. On X, critics slammed the country legend — one dismissed him as a “93 year old stoner” whose political advice they’d never take; another branded him “a left-wing liberal masquerading as a Texas country superstar” and a “left-wing loon.” A third mocked his endorsement line: “His first sentence, ‘he’s a good man’ says everything about Willie’s level of stupidity.”
Love him or hate him, one thing is certain: when Willie Nelson talks, Texas listens — even when half the state doesn’t like what he’s saying.
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