Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has the advantages of money, name recognition and the heavy Republican lean of his state in his race for re-election. State records show he had $67 million in cash on hand as of mid-July, compared with $3 million for his Democratic challenger, Gina Hinojosa.

But he has challenges, too, which helps explain why his convention speech was more a list of his conservative accomplishments in Texas than an homage to President Trump. Abbott focused on his efforts to secure the border, which he said have included building a border wall and banning sanctuary cities. He said he had signed laws that defund cities that defund their police; banned China, Russia and Iran from buying land in Texas; provided school choice; and toughened voter ID laws.

Analysts say that the governor's race in Texas isn't competitive but that it has the potential to become so. It's an anti-incumbent year. Polling finds that Hispanic voters in the state are slipping away from the GOP. Ken Paxton, the party's nominee for the Senate, is struggling.

And the public turn against AI data centers has prompted Abbott to change course on a key policy matter. He recently halted approvals for 1,800 new facilities after declaring only last November that his state was the "epicenter of AI development.