"Vote 'Em Out" is a single by

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...

, released on October 11, 2018, amidst the 2018 Senate election in Texas.

Background

In June 2018, Willie Nelson released a public statement criticizing the

Trump administration family separation policy The family separation policy under the First presidency of Donald Trump, first Trump administration was a controversial immigration enforcement strategy implemented in the United States from 2017 to 2018, aimed at Immigration policy of the f ...

. During his annual Fourth of July Picnic, Nelson was joined on stage by

Beto O'Rourke Robert Francis "Beto" O'Rourke ( , ; ; born September 26, 1972) is an American politician who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 2013 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States) ...

, a candidate in the 2018 Senate election in Texas. Nelson later gave his endorsement to O'Rourke, amid criticism from the conservative part of his fan base. On September 29, 2018 Nelson offered a free concert in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, supporting O'Rourke's campaign efforts. At the end of the concert, Nelson debuted his new song "Vote 'Em Out". The track was released as a single on October 11. On September 25, 2020 Nelson released an animated video on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

for "Vote 'Em Out" featuring cartoon characters are seen casting their ballots.

Sources

{{Authority control 2018 songs Willie Nelson songs Political songs Songs written by Willie Nelson Song recordings produced by Buddy Cannon 2018 singles Beto O'Rourke Animated music videos