Republicans have spent $359 million on Texas political ads since June to Democrats' $156 million, with crime, taxes and transgender issues on top

Republicans have outspent Democrats on Texas political advertising by more than 2 to 1 since early June, and the two parties are now fighting over many of the same issues, according to a Texas Tribune analysis of ad-tracking data from AdImpact published Thursday.

Republican campaigns and groups have spent $359 million on ads in Texas since June 2, compared with $156.1 million for Democrats, the analysis found. The biggest share of the money is in the U.S. Senate race between Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico, which the Tribune notes has shaped what each party's ads talk about.

Republicans: crime, taxes and transgender issues

Taxation led Republican advertising until mid-September, the Tribune reported, when crime and transgender issues moved ahead. Through the analysis period, Republicans spent:

• $103.1 million on ads centered on crime
• $92.7 million on tax-focused ads
• $119 million combined on ads about transgender minors, transgender athletes and LGBTQ+ rights, which together make up the largest category

For months, Gov. Greg Abbott's property tax ads were the GOP's main presence on the air. As Democratic nominee Gina Hinojosa became a more serious challenger, the Tribune reported, his ads turned to calling her a "radical" on transgender issues and saying she voted to raise property taxes.

Republicans also spent $15.1 million on ads about lower taxes on Social Security, an issue the analysis says Democrats once had to themselves.

Democrats: from health care to taxes

Democratic ads over the summer focused mostly on health care, inflation, housing and bipartisanship. After Labor Day, health care faded, and crime, corruption and special interests rose, according to the analysis.

A late push on taxes over the past two weeks made it the party's most expensive issue of the general election, at $35.8 million since June 2, including $16.9 million since Sept. 29.

Democrats have also spent about $16 million on ads about data centers and artificial intelligence in recent weeks, and $7.6 million on ads mentioning Jeffrey Epstein, which briefly ranked among their top three issues in September.

Both campaigns' leading ads now accuse the other side of lying. Talarico's top October ad, backed by $5.8 million, accuses Paxton of misrepresenting his record and responds to Republican attacks about Chinese influence and gender surgery for children. Hinojosa's top ad points to what it calls "lies" from Abbott's campaign about her property tax record.

The Tribune's own review of that claim found that Hinojosa did not explicitly vote to raise property taxes, as the Abbott ads suggest, but that the list behind the attack does include 40 votes against leading Republican property tax cut proposals.

Election Day is Nov. 3.

Sources

The Texas Tribune