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 ↗ |
|---|---|
| Early voting in person | Mon, Oct 19 to Fri, Oct 30Source: sos.state.tx.us ↗ |
| By mail | 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 ↗ |
| Election Day | Tue, Nov 3. Polls: 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.Source: votetexas.gov ↗ |
| ID at the polls | 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 ↗ |
Checked October 6, 2026. Rules can change; confirm with the official site before you go.
A person reads every report and fixes errors the same day.
As of 2026-10-08. Counts are of distinct ads; the same text run many times is one ad.
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.
An email when new ads come in from either side or the outside groups: the techniques, the words doing the work, and who paid. And each debate's analysis the morning after. One-click unsubscribe.
Semblen LLC · 5900 Balcones Drive STE 100, Austin, TX 78731
| Paid for by | Ads | With at least one technique | Most common |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gina Hinojosa Campaign | 21 | 14 of 21 (67%) | Loaded Language (11), Appeal to Fear (10), Appeal to Prejudice (10) |
| Greg Abbott | 5 | 4 of 5 | Loaded Language (4), Name Calling (4), Appeal to Fear (3) |
| AFT | 1 | 1 of 1 | Glittering Generalities (1) |
| Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas | 1 | 0 of 1 | |
| Gina Hinojosa | 1 | 0 of 1 | |
| JUSTICE DEMOCRACY JUDICIARY PAC | 1 | 1 of 1 | Glittering Generalities (1) |
| Texans for Greg Abbott | 1 | 0 of 1 | |
| Western Travis Democrats | 1 | 1 of 1 | Appeal to Fear (1), Bandwagon Appeal (1), Black-and-White Fallacy (1) |
Not everyone would call every technique manipulation. Untick the ones you'd call ordinary persuasion and the count updates.
66% of the 32 ads here use at least one of the techniques ticked below (21 ads).
Leaving out the softer ones (loaded language, glittering generalities, slogans, exaggeration, repetition): 56% of ads.
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.
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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.
32 ads, newest first. Video transcripts are shown as the model read them, without caption cues like [music].
Showing the 1 ad paid for by Texans for Greg Abbott. Show all 32 ads
The Abbott plan – limit local spending, voter approval to raise property taxes and eliminate school district property taxes entirely.
An email when new ads come in from either side or the outside groups: the techniques, the words doing the work, and who paid. And each debate's analysis the morning after. One-click unsubscribe.
Semblen LLC · 5900 Balcones Drive STE 100, Austin, TX 78731
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
🚨 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
Longhorn Ledger: news-style page
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.
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