AUSTIN, Texas -- We're 55 days away from the start of early voting in Texas for the midterm elections and campaign ads are already going negative.

We saw our share in the 2016 election, and 2018 is looking to be no different.

Sen. Ted Cruz's team just dropped its latest against his opponent Beto O'Rourke on Tuesday. While it’s not a new strategy, experts say the attack ad is changing.

"This harks back to the arguments at the time of the founders," said congressional studies expert Bryan Jones.

Studies show us more and more candidates are going negative with their ads.

"They can be more memorable, they can have a little more bite to them,” said aderverstising and public relations professor Angeline Close Scheinbaum.

Jones said attack ads instill anger and fear, emotions that are hard for most to shake. He said he remembers one particular attack ad as if it aired yesterday.

"Because it was a George H. W. Bush ad against Michael Dukakis and it wasn't a pleasant thing because it raised racial fears," Jones said.   

While negative ads are nothing new, Close Scheinbaum says the way candidates are attacking is different, more personal.

"Look, if you can't attack the message, attack the source," said Close Scheinbaum.  

In the heated 2016 presidential election, a study by the Center for Political Communication and Civic Leadership found that nearly 74 percent of Hillary Clinton's ads, and 35 percent of President Donald Trump's were character-focused attacks.

Experts say the psychology behind an attack ads' success is simple: humans are drawn to the negative.

"So think about this, you go out to a nice restaurant, you expect it to be good and pleasant. If it's not you tend to talk about it. And the research shows that people tend to talk a little more about negative events than positive events," said Close Scheinbaum.  

It's a strategy Texas candidates are closely considering in order to paint their opponent in a lasting negative light.