On Tuesday, Ken Paxton became the first Texas Republican candidate to lose a bid for the U.S. Senate in nearly 40 years.
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A wise man once said, “The war is not meant to be won, it is meant to be continuous.” That man was George Orwell, and his words proved quite prescient, as the pop culture war in electoral politics rages on with no end in sight.
After the 2024 presidential election, the Observer published a commentary piece titled, “How Kamala Harris Lost the Pop Culture War to Donald Trump.” In it, we argued that Donald Trump scored tremendous gains for his diversified arsenal of celebrity accolades and endorsements. Our pop culture autopsy (or “pop-topsy”) found that presidential hopeful Kamala Harris did not utilize the opportunity to appear on Joe Rogan and Theo Von’s podcasts, and relied too heavily on the old guard (Howard Stern, Beyoncé, etc.) to notice Trump also gaining ground with figures that had historically leaned toward democrats, like comedians and rappers.
Suffice it to say, a lot can happen in two years, and what was perceived as a “pop culture war” may have been a “pop culture battle.” Because on Tuesday night, the Republicans ate a three-course meal consisting of humble pie, crow and savory shit soufflé.
The pop-topsy results: Republicans bombed
For starters, it should be noted that celebrity endorsements do not (by themselves) win elections, least of all in Texas. If they did, Beto O’Rourke would have taken the glory that James Talarico claimed for himself this week. O’Rourke did, after all, score endorsements from Willie Nelson, Travis Scott, Beyoncé, and a whole slate of other celebrities with (and without) Texas ties.
It ultimately didn’t matter. Ted Cruz won by nearly three percentage points, and though Democrats tried to convince themselves otherwise, being close does not translate to having a U.S. Senator to approve or reject Supreme Court appointees.
That said, celebrity endorsements do hold value in cultivating enthusiasm. Talarico was flush with that, while Ken Paxton was in “please clap” territory.
Consider, for a moment, how Talarico was front row at a Kacey Musgraves concert in Dallas. And he had the Chicks. And Willie Nelson. And Ethan Hawke. And the cast of “Friday Night Lights.” And Don Henley.
Paxton, in contrast, had virtually nobody. Meanwhile, Gov. Greg Abbott’s celebrity endorsements were so scant that he had a cover band play his election watch party – and footage of the night was, naturally, drab.
Enthusiasm was a long shot for an incumbent governor with 12 years in office and an attorney general with corruption scandals as far as the eye could see. Trump is an old haunt with corruption scandals too, but at least he has Nicki Minaj.
Podcasts still reign supreme
In case you are still keeping score, let’s not forget that Talarico’s ascent into the public consciousness was due to his 2025 appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience. However you feel about Rogan and his shilling for things like DMT and elk meat, he has considerable influence. He arguably turned the 2024 election to Trump and had a grip on the fabled white male electorate that came to define the cycle.
We say all of this to point out that Talarico appeared on Rogan’s podcast at an early juncture, attracting a 2025 Time Magazine article titled “A Joe Rogan-Blessed Democrat? James Talarico Draws Eyes of a Party Desperate For New Leaders.” In the podcast episode, Rogan said to Talarico, “You need to run for president.”
Time’s Philip Elliott noted, “Talarico’s sudden place in the imagination of D.C.’s elites is not entirely unwarranted. He is seen as a dark-horse candidate to challenge Sen. John Cornyn’s already dicey re-election bid in Texas, where a scandal-soaked Attorney General Ken Paxton may plausibly land a Trump endorsement for his primary challenge.”
Need we say more?
Talarico also fared well in the dying late-night cohort. Although Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert’s shows were faring worse in this media ecosystem, Trump’s FCC alleged targeting of Talarico’s interviews was actually a blessing in disguise for the Senator-elect. The latter host’s interview with Talarico garnered nearly 10 million views in eight months, while Kimmel’s interview garneredan astonishing 15 million views in one month.
So what have we learned? For one thing, censorship only draws more attention to what is being censored. That’s not exactly a novel concept, but it bears repeating given the current administration’s censorial proclivities. Moreover, it shows that the Democratic establishment is getting wise to the evolving media ecosystem: Talarico adapted to bro-ey podcast culture, while Paxton did virtually nothing to integrate into celebrity culture (especially when comedian Ron White went on Rogan’s podcast to lambast his brazen corruption).
Republicans should ultimately pay heed to this warning: the pop culture war giveth, and the pop culture war taketh.
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