April 16, 2014 11:06 AM

UPDATED: Dewhurst releases TV ad against Patrick: The Mother of all Debt

Lite Guv also keys on Julian Castro’s statement that Patrick is the D’s “meal ticket”; Patrick's camp says Dewhurst has gone "straight for the gutter"

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst on Wednesday released a scathing TV ad about his GOP challenger Sen. Dan Patrick in which the Tea Party-style candidate is criticized for his business practices as well as his name change. You can see the ad below. Per the Express News, Dewhurst has spent at least $445,000 on the broadcast buy and the number is expected to rise.

Meantime, in a fundraising email this morning, Dewhurst said it was “funny” that during last night’s immigration debate, San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro called Patrick “the most anti-immigration Republican running for state-wide office.” That is humorous, Dewhurst said, “because when Patrick was racking up hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid taxes, he was also employing illegal immigrants.”

Dewhurst also pointed out that Castro said Patrick is the kind of Republican who represents the Democrats’ “meal ticket” for a win by the minority part in November.

The incumbent’s campaign also posted this fact-check about Patrick’s history on their anti-Patrick blog called “Real Dan Patrick.”

Allen Blakemore, chief strategist for Patrick, said Dewhurst has gone “right for the gutter” with attack ad. “"Over the next seven days, he is spending over $1,000,000 polluting the airwaves, spewing raw sewage, and personally attacking Dan Patrick. Mr. Dewhurst’s ad offers no excuse for his own record of failure to secure the border, failure to address property taxes that are driving people from their homes, and a failure to deliver a fiscally responsible budget," Blakemore said.