Republicans are spending big to boost Ken Paxton on the airwaves, but not in Spanish
Groups aligned with Paxton have spent heavily on advertising, though relatively little of that spending has gone to Spanish-language media.
SOURCE CHECK
TAP FOR WHYCredibility rates KSAT, which republished this story. The other scores rate the article itself.
The reporting is attributed to Texas Tribune, an established nonprofit newsroom, and appears in a local news outlet. The article identifies its data source and discloses the Tribune’s funding relationships.
- Source type — Published by a local news outlet and reported by an established nonprofit newsroom.
- Author attribution — The reporting is attributed to Texas Tribune and a named reporter.
- Transparency — The article includes a funding disclosure and identifies AdImpact as a source for spending figures.
The article uses specific ad-spending figures, polling, and an expert’s comments, and includes political context. It notes that Paxton’s campaign and supporting groups did not respond, leaving their perspective absent.
HOW WE SCORE ↗The article includes data, expert commentary, Republican concerns, and context about prior GOP gains among Latino voters. Paxton’s campaign and supporting groups did not respond, so their perspective is not represented directly.
- Source diversity — Uses advertising data, survey results, an academic, and comments from a Republican former congresswoman.
- Counterarguments presented — Notes that Republicans made major gains with Latino voters in the prior Senate race despite limited Spanish-language advertising.
- Omitted context — The article says Paxton’s campaign and major supporting groups did not respond to comment requests.
The article presents ad-spending figures, voter trends, and attributed perspectives in largely neutral language. It reports concerns about Republican outreach while also noting Republicans’ past gains with Latino voters.
- Language tone — Mostly descriptive language, with concerns attributed to Republican sources.
- Source selection — Includes a Republican former officeholder, an academic, and polling and advertising data; Paxton’s campaign did not respond.
- Framing — Frames the story around Spanish-language ad spending and its possible electoral implications without asserting a definite outcome.
Republished with credit
Republished from Texas Tribune, with credit to the original publisher.
48 stories · 78–81 · updated Oct 6, 2026
This is Texas Tribune's own score, and this article is credited to Texas Tribune. The host score in the Source Check is KSAT's.
Republican-aligned groups spent heavily on ads promoting Ken Paxton, but only a small share went to Spanish-language media. The article examines the potential effect on Latino voters and contrasts the spending with James Talarico’s Spanish-language outreach.
Since the start of September, groups aligned with Paxton bought $188 million in advertising, including future TV reservations; $4.2 million, about 2%, was for Spanish-language ads, according to AdImpact. The article reports concern among some Republicans that limited Spanish-language outreach could put the party’s gains with Latino voters at risk.
The article compares the campaigns’ Spanish-language advertising and outreach. Talarico and his allies had spent $4.6 million, compared with $4.2 million for Paxton and Republican groups, and Talarico had campaigned in Spanish and launched a WhatsApp service. The article notes that Paxton’s campaign and supporting groups did not respond to requests for comment.
Community verdict
VOTING CLOSED
No good or bad look here
This story reports what happened without casting Paxton in a good or bad light, so readers don’t rate it and it doesn’t count toward Paxton’s record.
People in this story
SWIPE →Republican Senate candidate whose aligned groups are purchasing advertising
Democratic Senate candidate whose Spanish-language advertising and voter outreach are compared with Paxton-aligned spending
Talarico's version of this story ↗
Former congresswoman concerned about limited Republican Spanish-language advertising
President whose campaign promises are cited as context for some Hispanic Republicans’ concerns
Former president mentioned in connection with Angie Gutierrez’s campaign work
Senate majority leader mentioned in connection with a super PAC supporting Paxton
Former vice president mentioned in connection with Angie Gutierrez’s campaign work
Senator mentioned in comparison with the prior Texas Senate race
Former Texas candidate cited as context for Democrats’ past support among Hispanic voters
Part of a bigger story
5 OUTLETSA Republican super PAC spent $131 million over 17 days supporting Ken Paxton’s Texas Senate campaign, about $7.7 million per day. Left-leaning outlets focus on a television host’s rebuke of Paxton after a report that he criticized Trump. Center outlets and right-leaning outlets both foreground pro-Paxton campaign spending; center outlets also examine ad allocation, while right-leaning outlets add Paxton’s announced $20 million ad buy amid a close race.
- ARTICLES
- 6
- OUTLETS
- 5
- AVG CRED
- 60
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