Kacey Musgraves responded publicly to Kristi Noem after the former Homeland Security secretary criticized Musgraves while endorsing Ken Paxton over James Talarico in the Texas Senate race. Noem also tried to frame the country singer's Dallas concert appearance as a reason to favor rising artist Ella Langley . Noem posted that she would choose Langley over Musgraves and Paxton over Talarico. The political endorsement quickly became a music and culture feud, because Talarico had attended Musgraves's Dallas show and Noem made the concert part of her argument. Kacey Musgraves Had the Receipt Ready Musgraves answered with a pointed reference to Noem's widely reported account of killing her 14 month old dog, Cricket, after describing the animal as untrainable. Musgraves's response suggested that Noem had no place weighing in on the Texas matchup, then sharpened the punchline by invoking the dog controversy. Both Musgraves and Langley are currently touring, while the Texas Senate contest remains weeks from Election Day. Noem's attempt to turn a concert appearance into a campaign talking point instead handed Musgraves a very specific receipt, and she used it.