James Talarico, a Texas Democrat challenging incumbent Ken Paxton for the U.S. Senate seat, is leveraging an endorsement from Bill Nye, the renowned television science educator, in a new campaign video launching on Friday. The video forms part of his effort to establish a "Teachers for Talarico" coalition, emphasising his credentials as an educator. This celebrity backing is noteworthy as midterm campaigns have seen relatively fewer celebrity endorsements compared to the 2024 presidential race.

Talarico worked as a middle school teacher in San Antonio before entering the Texas legislature, which Nye highlights in the video as central to his political identity. Beyond the Nye endorsement, Talarico has received support from figures including Willie Nelson and Jimmy Kimmel, though his appearance on Kimmel's late-night show was moved to YouTube to avoid FCC equal-time rule concerns. Whilst Talarico currently leads in polls over Paxton, Republican super PACs are making significant financial investments to bolster support for the incumbent in the state.