Delaware's Senate race has gotten quite ugly over the past couple weeks--since Tea Party Express endorsed Republican primary candidate Christine O'Donnell, a veritable hurricane of anti-O'Donnell research has churned over the state--and the Democrat is now seeking advantage in all this mess.

"Six years ago, New Castle County government was a mess of corruption and out of control spending," the ad says. "Then Chris Coons took over. Chris balanced the budget. He demanded more accountability. He cracked down on wasteful spending. Chris even cut his own pay."

This ad was already in the hopper for Coons, but his campaign clearly sees an opportunity to define him positively while Castle and O'Donnell duke it out. The ad is going up statewide, on cable. It is unclear how long the ad will stay on the air.