Texas Governor 2026: the ads, and who's paying for them
Greg Abbott (Republican), Gina Hinojosa (Democrat) and Pat Dixon (Libertarian) are the candidates for governor of Texas in the November 3, 2026 general election. Greg Abbott is the incumbent. Semblen has analyzed 32 ads in this race; 21 used at least one manipulation technique, most often loaded language and appeal to fear. Next date for voters: Early voting starts: Mon, Oct 19.
Greg Abbott (REP, incumbent), Gina Hinojosa (DEM), Pat Dixon (LIB).
On the ballot as listed by Ballotpedia. 32 ads analyzed, 21 with at least one technique in the copy.
Newest first. The paid-for-by line is the advertiser's own filing. Updated 2026-10-08. 2 ads from other advertisers shown separately below.
From Texas's official election office. Each line links to the official page it came from.
Next: Early voting starts: Mon, Oct 19 (in 11 days)
Registration
Register by Mon, Oct 5 (30th day before Election Day, moved to the next business day. Mailed applications must be postmarked by the deadline. New registrations are on paper; online is only for updating an existing record.) (passed)Source: votetexas.gov ↗
Mail voting needs a reason the state accepts (Only these voters qualify: away from the county, sick or disabled, expecting to give birth within 3 weeks of Election Day, 65 or older, or confined in jail or involuntary civil commitment); request a ballot by Fri, Oct 23 (Must be received by this date; a postmark does not count); return it by Tue, Nov 3 (Received by 7 pm on Election Day, or postmarked by 7 pm on Election Day and received by 5 pm on Nov 4)Source: sos.state.tx.us ↗Source: votetexas.gov ↗
One of 7 acceptable photo IDs. A voter who cannot reasonably get one may sign a Reasonable Impediment Declaration and show supporting ID instead.Source: votetexas.gov ↗
A small box with these findings and the newest ads, updated as new ads are analyzed. Free for newsrooms, blogs and campaigns alike; it links back here.
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Leaving out the softer ones (loaded language, glittering generalities, slogans, exaggeration, repetition): 56% of ads.
The words doing the work
The words that show up most in phrases our model flagged as loaded language or name calling in this race's ads, by number of ads.
dangerousin 3 ads· e.g. “too radical, too dangerous for Texas”, “too radical, too dangerous”
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Money in this race
Candidates for governor report their fundraising to Texas's state campaign-finance office, not the FEC. This page doesn't cover those reports yet, so it shows no money figures.
The ads
32 ads, newest first. Video transcripts are shown as the model read them, without caption cues like [music].
Paid for by Greg Abbottvideo · 0:30from 2026-10-08
Gina Inhouosa voted 40 times for higher property taxes, but it gets worse. Gina Inhouosa supports a new state income tax for Texas, just like in California and New York. We don't have the third leg to of that stool, which would include income taxes.
Her state income tax will cost you thousands of dollars per year. Say no to Gina Inhouosa. No state income tax.
no techniques found
Looks up the ad's factual claims in fact-checkers, primary sources and wire reporting. Takes up to a minute.
Watch on YouTube ↗Transcript above is auto-generated; the analysis is of the spoken words.
Gina Hinojosa Is Trying to Censor This Ad
Paid for by Greg Abbottvideo · 0:23from 2026-10-05
Gina Hinojosa doesn't want you to know the truth. She wants to censor a TV ad about her legislative record of more than 40 votes to raise property taxes. When Gina can't win on the merits, she resorts to desperate lawfare tactics to hide her troubling record.
Conspiracy Appeal: Implies a hidden agenda where the subject is deliberately concealing truth from the public — for example: 'doesn't want you to know the truth'
Loaded Language: The word 'censor' is emotionally charged, framing a legal challenge to an ad as an authoritarian suppression of speech — for example: censor a TV ad and desperate lawfare tactics to hide her troubling record.
Name Calling: The term 'lawfare' is a derogatory label used to delegitimize legal action rather than engage with its substance — for example: 'resorts to desperate lawfare tactics'
Black-and-White Fallacy: Presents only two options: winning on the merits or resorting to underhanded tactics, ignoring the possibility that a legal challenge could be legitimate — for example: 'When Gina can't win on the merits, she resorts to desperate lawfare tactics'
Conspiracy Appeal
Loaded Language
Name Calling
Black-and-White Fallacy
Looks up the ad's factual claims in fact-checkers, primary sources and wire reporting. Takes up to a minute.
Watch on YouTube ↗Transcript above is auto-generated; the analysis is of the spoken words.
Gina Hinojosa: Too Radical for Texas
Paid for by Greg Abbottvideo · 0:30from 2026-10-01
Just how radical is Gina Inahuosa? She supports taxpayers paying for sex change surgery for kids. And if parents refuse to recognize their child's new gender, Inahuosa supports prosecuting the parents for protecting their children.
It sounds crazy because it is crazy. Inahuosa also supports boys in girls sports. Watch.
I really don't understand how girls would be hurt by this. Gina Inahuosa, too radical, too dangerous for Texas.
Loaded Language: The word 'radical' is used as an emotionally charged label to prime the reader against the subject before any evidence is presented — for example: radical, sex change surgery for kids and protecting their children.
Name Calling: The rhetorical question frames 'radical' as a defining label for the person rather than engaging with her actual positions — for example: 'Just how radical is Gina Inahuosa?'
Appeal to Fear: The framing invokes taxpayer money being spent on a controversial medical procedure for children to trigger financial and moral anxiety in the reader — for example: taxpayers paying for sex change surgery for kids and prosecuting the parents for protecting their children.
Card Stacking: The sentence presents only one framing of a complex legal and policy debate — that parents are merely 'protecting' their children — while omitting any alternative perspective on child welfare or the legal rationale behind such policies — for example: 'prosecuting the parents for protecting their children'
Black-and-White Fallacy: Presents complex issues as having only two options, ignoring nuance — for example: (?:real|true).*(?:know|understand).*.
Appeal to Prejudice: The phrase 'for Texas' invokes regional in-group identity, implying the subject is incompatible with Texas values or identity to stoke in-group/out-group sentiment — for example: 'too dangerous for Texas'
Loaded Language
Name Calling
Appeal to Fear
Card Stacking
Black-and-White Fallacy
Appeal to Prejudice
Looks up the ad's factual claims in fact-checkers, primary sources and wire reporting. Takes up to a minute.
Watch on YouTube ↗Transcript above is auto-generated; the analysis is of the spoken words.
Follow the Texas Governor race
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Paid for by Greg Abbottvideo · 0:30from 2026-10-01
Can you imagine a Texas where you could be prosecuted for refusing to change your child's gender? Democrat Gina Inahosa can, because she supports it. A Texas that has an income tax?
Inahosa supports that, too. Or a Texas that defunds the police and lets violent criminals out on easy bail? Gina Inahosa thinks that's good policy.
We cannot elect Gina Inahosa governor, because she isn't just wrong, she's dangerous for Texas.
Appeal to Fear: The sentence conjures a frightening hypothetical scenario of criminal prosecution for parenting decisions to provoke anxiety — for example: prosecuted for refusing to change your child's gender and A Texas that has an income tax.
Loaded Language: The framing of 'prosecuted' in the context of parenting choices uses emotionally charged language designed to trigger outrage — for example: 'prosecuted for refusing to change your child's gender'
Exaggeration/Hyperbole: The scenario presented is an extreme hypothetical with no factual basis, overstating a policy position to the point of absurdity — for example: 'prosecuted for refusing to change your child's gender'
Name Calling: The label 'Democrat' is used as a derogatory identifier to discredit Gina Inahosa by association rather than addressing her actual positions — for example: 'Democrat Gina Inahosa'
Card Stacking: The sentence asserts without evidence that the named individual supports criminal prosecution of parents, presenting an unverified extreme claim as established fact — for example: 'she supports it'
Black-and-White Fallacy: The sentence implies the only options are electing her or avoiding danger, dismissing any nuanced assessment of her candidacy — for example: 'she isn't just wrong, she's dangerous'
Appeal to Fear
Loaded Language
Exaggeration/Hyperbole
Name Calling
Card Stacking
Black-and-White Fallacy
Looks up the ad's factual claims in fact-checkers, primary sources and wire reporting. Takes up to a minute.
Watch on YouTube ↗Transcript above is auto-generated; the analysis is of the spoken words.
Gina Hinojosa is a Defund the Police Radical
Paid for by Greg Abbottvideo · 0:15from 2026-10-01
Can you imagine a Texas that defunds the police and let's criminals out on easy bail? Gina Inahoja supports those policies, but we know they're dangerous and you pay the price. Gina Inahoja, too radical, too dangerous for Texas.
Appeal to Fear: The rhetorical question invites the audience to imagine a frightening scenario of lawlessness to provoke anxiety — for example: Can you imagine a Texas that defunds the police and let's criminals out on easy bail? and you pay the price.
Loaded Language: Emotionally charged terms are used to trigger a negative reaction rather than convey neutral facts — for example: defunds the police, criminals out on easy bail and too radical.
Appeal to Prejudice: The phrase 'we know' creates an in-group of right-thinking people who oppose the candidate, implying shared identity and values against an outsider — for example: 'we know they're dangerous'
Name Calling: Derogatory labels are applied to the candidate to discredit her without addressing specific arguments — for example: 'too radical, too dangerous'
Repetition: The word 'too' paired with negative descriptors is repeated in quick succession to reinforce the negative impression through familiarity — for example: 'too radical, too dangerous'
Appeal to Fear
Loaded Language
Appeal to Prejudice
Name Calling
Repetition
Looks up the ad's factual claims in fact-checkers, primary sources and wire reporting. Takes up to a minute.
Watch on YouTube ↗Transcript above is auto-generated; the analysis is of the spoken words.
Other advertisers
Paid posts that ran in TX and name a candidate, from advertisers that aren't part of this race: news-style pages, campaigns for other offices, and others. They're shown here for completeness and not counted with the ads above. We show the same technique analysis; their claims are not checked.
Longhorn Ledger: news-style page
Paid for by Longhorn Ledgerfrom 2026-10-072 variantsspend $0–198200–1,998 impressions
🚨 DHS and FEMA approved a $7.5 billion grant reimbursing Texas for eligible border security expenses dating to 2021 under Operation Lone Star. Gov. Greg Abbott displayed a ceremonial check during a press conference.
Abbott said Texas also plans to seek roughly $3 billion through a separate Justice Department fund. The $7.5 billion covers past costs, not recurring funding. What do you make of this? 👇
#Texas #BorderSecurity #OperationLoneStar
Paid for by Longhorn Ledgerfrom 2026-09-29 to 2026-10-062 variantsspend $0–1984,000–5,998 impressions
Gov. Greg Abbott is putting affordability at the center of his agenda as Texas continues to deal with rising costs.
During a visit to Sherman, Abbott outlined his priorities for making life more affordable for Texans, including property tax relief and lowering costs for families. He also addressed the rapid growth of data centers across the state and the role local communities should have in deciding whether these projects move forward.
The comments come as affordability and data center development remain major issues for communities across Texas.
An ad is on this page because its own "Paid for by" line is a campaign in this race; or it ran mostly in TX and names a nominee for governor — unless its sponsor is a campaign for some other office (a U.S. Senate or House campaign included), or it also names TX's Senate nominees, in which case it is on the Senate race's page. Ads from outside groups appear alongside the campaigns' own.
The candidates are the ones certified for the November ballot, from the source linked at the top. Governors are state offices, so there are no FEC filings behind this page: no money figures, and outside groups are placed on a side only when they are a campaign or a party committee.
Campaigns run one text as many separate ads. Identical text from the same sponsor is one card here, marked with its number of variants.
A technique is a specific manipulative move in the wording, found by our model and explained in one line. It is not a claim that the ad is false.
Claims are checked when a reader asks: press "Check this ad's claims" on a card. The check runs once and its result is shown to everyone afterwards. The ten ads with the most money behind them in each race are checked ahead of time.
Claim verdicts say what the cited sources say. A verdict that an ad is wrong or misleading is shown only when it cites an established fact-checker or an institutional record — Congress, a federal agency, a court — and its confidence is not low; a weaker one is not shown at all. Each verdict shows what it rests on and how confident it is. If we got one wrong, press Disagree: a verdict that readers dispute and no one defends comes down.
Video ads come from the campaigns' own YouTube channels; the transcript is analyzed. Meta ads are analyzed on their text; their video and images are not, yet.
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