Gov. Brewer Takes Shot at Challenger Dean Martin

PHOENIX - We are months away from the party primaries in the race for Arizona Governor, but things are already getting confrontational.

Gov. Brewer has launched the first shot against fellow Republican Dean Martin, who's trying to unseat her. She's going after the State Treasurer's record.

Polling shows Dean Martin is the frontrunner, so Brewer is zoning in and not holding back.

The ad begins by asking "What does Dean Martin do best?" Then the music starts. Martin's head on a dancing cartoon body is paired with former governor Janet Napolitano. [Press play to see clips]

The message? Martin supported Napolitano's budget, and helped get Arizona into this budget mess.

"He was part of problem and his record proves that," says Gov. Brewer. "Tell people the truth, give them the facts, they are smart enough to be able to do the math."

But were Martin and Napolitano really as close as the ad suggests? Then-governor Janet Napolitano called Martin 'Chicken Little' when he warned about the looming budget crisis.

"Interesting that she is now pointing fingers, when she was nowhere to be found when I was trying to stand alone against these problems three years ago," counters Martin.

The Republican primary is expected to be a nasty one, and the latest Rasmussen poll taken earlier this year shows Martin with a 2-point lead over Brewer.

There are six candidates -- and we still have six months to go.