Former NASA astronaut Terry Virts announces campaign for Texas Senate seat

Former NASA astronaut Terry Virts is running for one of Texas’ United States Senate seats, he announced today (June 23).

Virts, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel, F-16 pilot and two-time crew member of the International Space Station (ISS), announced his candidacy Monday in a video posted to social media. “Trump’s chaos must be stopped. The corruption is overwhelming. Our Constitution is under attack,” Virts says in the 2-minute clip. His run aims to challenge the Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s bid, who’s polling higher than John Cornyn, the Republican Senator currently holding the seat and is up for reelection in 2026.

Virts frames his campaign against a divisive and dysfunctional Washington, where he says leadership is M.I.A. “After every [NASA] mission, we debrief, no excuses,” Virts says, adding, “after the 2024 election disaster, Washington Democratic leadership skipped the debrief.”

Virts piloted Space Shuttle Endeavour on the STS-130 mission in 2010, and served as ISS commander in 2015. He logged more than 212 cumulative days in space before his retirement from NASA, and has since remained in the public light through his books, public speaking and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) outreach.

As Senator, Virts plans to use his experiences in space to emphasize cooperation and problem-solving on Earth. “From orbit, Earth takes your breath away,” Virts says at the start of the video. “But amidst that beauty, danger is never far. You learn fast that chaos is lethal, so you adapt, you solve problems and you lead because your lives depend on it,” he said.

Virts is filing as a Democrat, joining a field of early challengers all vying for the seat. While Virts’ campaign video highlights Paxton as an opponent, Cornyn has represented Texas in the Senate since 2002 and has become a fixture on the national stage.

If elected, Virts wouldn’t be the first astronaut to enter into politics. Bill Nelson flew aboard Space Shuttle Columbia as a payload specialist in 1986, served in the U.S. Senate from 2001-2019, and was also appointed as NASA administrator under President Biden. Mark Kelly flew four space shuttle missions between 2001 and 2011, and was elected as one of Arizona’s U.S. Senate members in 2020. And John Glenn, famously the first American to orbit the Earth, served as the U.S. Senator form Ohio from 1974-1999. Apollo 17 moonwalker Harrison Schmitt served in the U.S. Senate representing New Mexico from 1977 to 1983, and Apollo 13 astronaut Jack Swigert was elected to Congress in Colorado in 1982, but died of cancer before he could take office.

Though his frustrations in the online video are presented through the national lens, Virts is also concentrating on the state he hopes to represent. “This moment demands something different: Honesty, courage and a clean break from the past,” Virts said. “I’ll make it my mission to fight for Texans every day: Texas farmers crushed by Trump’s insane tariffs, Texas workers buried with rising costs, Texas kids hit with education cuts and Texas communities kicked off Medicaid. I’ve risked my life for this country, and I’ll fight anyone trying to destroy it.”

“I’m an American. First, a Texan. Second, and a common sense Democrat third. It’s time for new leadership. I’m Terry Virts I’m running for US Senate and I’m ready for my next mission.”

Josh Dinner is the Staff Writer for Spaceflight at Space.com. He is a writer and photographer with a passion for science and space exploration, and has been working the space beat since 2016. Josh has covered the evolution of NASA’s commercial spaceflight partnerships and crewed missions from the Space Coast, as well as NASA science missions and more. He also enjoys building 1:144-scale model rockets and human-flown spacecraft. Find some of Josh’s launch photography on Instagram and his website, and follow him on X, where he mostly posts in haiku.