The country singer was an enthusiastic supporter of the Democrats who won every major statewide race in Texas.
Willie Nelson participates in a press conference during Farm Aid 2026 at Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater on September 26, 2026, in Virginia Beach, Virginia.(Gary Miller / Getty Images)
There are many factors behind Tuesday’s great-big, Texas-size victories for Senator-elect James Talarico and Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa—and for the rest of the long-beleaguered Texas Democratic Party, which swept the GOP out of power in races up and down the ballot.
Donald Trump won the Lone Star State in 2024 by more than 1.5 million votes and carried 242 of the state’s 254 counties. But by 2026, Texas, like every other corner of the United States, had soured on the president. And this year’s Republican slate was uninspired, not just because of the many scandals associated with Trump-imposed Senate nominee Ken Paxton, but also because once-popular GOP stalwarts, such as Governor Greg Abbott, had messy records on everything from public education to immigration policy to data centers. Clearly, this was fertile territory for a Democratic rout.
But Talarico and Hinojosa also had the advantage of having been vetted by the man who invariably ranks at or near the top of lists of influential, and beloved, Texans.
That would be Willie Nelson.
The 93-year-old country singer has released more than 100 studio albums, won a dozen Grammys (having been nominated 59 times in seven different genres) and continues an endless tour that still fills arenas on his own and with a crowd of outlaw country players, folkies, rockers and rappers. It’s fair to say he has achieved “national treasure” status, as the songwriter who gave us “On the Road Again,” “Always On My Mind,” “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” and “Whiskey River.”
Nelson is a savvy longtime observer of the politics of his state and nation. And he speaks up.
Last month, the singer shared a video in which he announced, “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 two had indeed gotten to know one another; Talarico joined Nelson at his Austin show celebrating the nation’s 250th birthday, posting a photo of the pair and the message: “Happy Fourth of July from Willie and me!”
On the same day, Hinojosa shared a photo of her with the singer-songwriter and wrote: “Texas in our souls Willie Nelson.”
Nelson formally endorsed Hinojosa on October 3, along with a widely circulated message that urged viewers to visit her campaign website. Hinojosa responded, “We’re one month out from Election Day. Listen to Willie. Vote for change this year.”
As with the Talarico endorsement, Nelson’s Hinojosa backing was covered all over Texas media—along with endorsements of Democrats by other musicians with Texas ties, such as Don Henley of the Eagles and the members of the Chicks.
Nelson also went down ballot, endorsing Texan Vikki Goodwin for the powerful post of lieutenant governor—telling voters, “We need her!”
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Nelson is not new to progressive politics. He was an active supporter of former US Representative Dennis Kucinich’s anti-war presidential bid in 2004, and has backed a number of Texas Democrats along the way—in particular Beto O’Rourke, who mounted serious bids for the US Senate in 2018 and governor in 2022. O’Rourke lost to Republican Ted Cruz in the Senate race and, this fall, Cruz snarkily announced, “Willie’s music is great, but historically, this has been the beginning of the end for Democrat campaigns in Texas.”
Cruz got it wrong.
Democrats swept statewide contests on Tuesday, producing an epic political shift.
Goodwin beat longtime Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick on Tuesday, and will become the first Democratic lieutenant governor of the state in almost three decades.
Hinojosa will be the first Democratic governor since Ann Richards was defeated in 1994.
And Talarico became the first Democrat to win an election for a Texas US Senate seat since 1998—with 55 percent support and a margin of almost 1.2 million votes over Paxton.
John NicholsTwitterJohn Nichols is the executive editor of The Nation. He previously served as the magazine’s national affairs correspondent and Washington correspondent. Nichols has written, cowritten, or edited over a dozen books on topics ranging from histories of American socialism and the Democratic Party to analyses of US and global media systems. His latest, cowritten with Senator Bernie Sanders, is the New York Times bestseller It's OK to Be Angry About Capitalism.