McAllen, TX (KRGV) — Millions of dollars are flooding into South Texas as political campaigns push to reach Rio Grande Valley voters through TV, mail, social media and text messages.

Deborah Batsell, a retired educator, said she already knows who she's supporting this November. But she's noticed the nonstop stream of political ads.

"People are not paying attention. It's not a presidential election so it doesn't really matter. Oh my gosh, does it matter," Batsell said.

Campaigns are spending heavily to reach voters who may not be following the races closely. Michael Schneider, vice president of legislative and regulatory affairs for the Texas Association of Broadcasters, said spending in South Texas is higher than it's ever been.

"This year we're already looking around $14 million in the Texas 15 race and in the Texas 34 race, we've exceeded 2024. We're already at about $10.45 million. And we've still got a couple weeks to go here," Schneider said.

He said the fight for votes isn't just playing out on television. It's in mailboxes, on streaming services and across the internet.

One ad has generated questions from Channel 5 News viewers. It includes a portion of a Channel 5 News report.

Channel 5 News received emails and calls from viewers questioning why its reporting appeared in a campaign ad and whether Channel 5 was taking a side.

The ad was not produced or endorsed by Channel 5 News. Schneider said broadcasters operate under federal rules when it comes to ads purchased by legally qualified candidates.

"As broadcasters under our FCC license, we cannot censor an ad, we cannot edit an ad if it is placed by that legally qualified candidate or his or her representative. So if the campaign places the ad we have no control over the content of those ads," Schneider said.

Those rules are different for ads purchased by outside groups such as PACs. Stations are required to keep information about political ad purchases in an online public file, which can show who bought the ad, when it was scheduled and how much they paid.

Batsell said the volume of ads does carry a risk.

"You're going to see this wave come in from both sides trying to get people's attention. Now, they do run the risk, right, of people just going, 'Well, you know, we'll turn that off. I don't want to hear this anymore,'" Batsell said.

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