GOP front-runner up with his first ad in Texas Senate race

Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst (R) will launch his first ad of the campaign Tuesday, a spot that ignores his primary opponents altogether and calls for a balanced-budget amendment and a repeal of President Obama's health insurance overhaul.

The ad will run on cable in all the major Texas markets, and the buy was in the low six figures, according to the campaign.

The front-runner has higher name recognition statewide than his GOP opponents, former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz and former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert, and while all three have had strong fundraising numbers, so far Dewhurst has the most cash to spend in the expensive state, partly because of his large personal wealth. Leppert has already been on the air with two ads.

The three are running to replace Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), who is retiring.

"What are they thinking in Washington? You can't tell me they can't cut spending. I know they can," Dewhurst says in the ad, before a narrator announces, "We've got to clean up the mess. We've got to prioritize. We've got to choke down government. It's worked in Texas — it can work in Washington."

Watch it here: