With less than three weeks to go until the September Democratic primary and a narrow lead in the polls, Vince Gray’s campaign has surprisingly taken a turn to the negative.

Today, the Gray campaign rolled out its first — and likely only — television ad of the race, a 30-second bit that directly attacks Fenty for his links to Omar Karim and Sinclair Skinner, Fenty’s former fraternity brothers that are at the center of the $82 million parks and rec contract scandal. The ad also targets Ron Moten, a fervent Fenty supporter and founder of Peaceaholics, an anti-violence organization that has received millions in government contracts over the last four years.

This ad hits the airwaves only weeks after Gray put out a YouTube ad taking Fenty to task for his own negative ads, which have been airing on local broadcast and cable channels this month.

Additionally, the Gray campaign kicked off a Twitter campaign yesterday, listing Fenty’s failures and aimed to last through the Democratic primary on September 12. “We’ll have a new reminder of Fenty’s record of mistakes, mismanagement and cronyism every day,” tweeted the campaign yesterday. “Suggest your own with the #FentyFail hashtag.” On Monday, the Post reported on Gray’s latest campaign mailers, which bear Skinner’s image and criticize Fenty for his links to the controversial figure.