A super-PAC supporting Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-Texas) reelection bid is slamming Rep. Steve Stockman’s (R-Texas) ethics in its first ad of the Texas GOP primary.

Texans for a Conservative Majority, a group run by former Cornyn staffers, attacks Stockman for his campaign finance violations.

{mosads}”Lies, shady deals, ethical failings: It’s everything that’s wrong with Washington, and its Congressman Steve Stockman’s troubling record,” the ad’s narrator says. “The Houston Chronicle reports Congressman Stockman failed to disclose business deals in places like the Virgin Islands, was fined 40 grand for violating federal law and is now trying to hide the facts amid calls for an ethics investigation. Congressman Steve Stockman: just another shady Washington politician.”

Randy Cubriel, the group’s head, takes an additional shot at Stockman, who launched a surprise last-minute primary bid against Cornyn in early December.

“Stockman’s troubling record is the polar opposite of Senator John Cornyn’s career of upstanding service and proven leadership,” he says. “Texans deserve better than Congressman Stockman, they deserve someone they can trust.”

The group is first airing the ad in the Houston and Beaumont media markets, an area that covers Stockman’s congressional district, and might expand the buy to other parts of the state.

Stockman’s campaign faces a steep uphill climb and has gotten off to a rocky start. He began the race with no money in the bank against Cornyn, who has more than $7 million in his campaign account. Since Stockman launched his bid, most of the media’s focus has been on his campaign finance problems and controversial remarks.

A December poll from a Texas GOP consultant not affiliated with either campaign found Cornyn with a huge lead, and none of the national conservative groups that often fuel Tea Party challengers have stepped up to help the congressman.