Illinois state Rep. Julie Hamos (D) is the first candidate to hit the TV airwaves in the open-seat contest for Rep. Mark Kirk’s (R) seat.

Hamos, who is running in the Feb. 2 primary against marketing consultant Dan Seals, is putting up her first advertisement Saturday in select parts of the district, according to her campaign.

Hamos must overcome the huge name identification advantage held by Seals, who was the party’s nominee in 2006 and 2008.

Hamos had more than $490,000 in the bank at the end of September. She used that to put her first spot, “The Time Has Come,— on cable networks in the district. The ad focuses on the health care reform debate that has been raging in Congress.

“I’m Julie Hamos. The time has come for every American to have quality, affordable health care,— she says in the ad. “We finally have a chance to make that happen with a comprehensive package that includes a public option so that everyone has an affordable choice for health insurance, no matter what. We have to let Congress know that real health care reform demands a public option. Let’s not let this moment in history pass us by.—

Several Republicans are also running for Kirk’s seat, including state Rep. Beth Coulson and businessmen Dick Green and Bob Dold.