Former state Sen. Sue Lowden (R) is up with her first television ad in her campaign against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D).

The 30-second introductory spot focuses on Lowden’s working-class roots, starting with her ancestors who “worked in the coal mines and the shipyards of America,” and noting that Lowden herself “worked through college” before going on to work as a teacher, journalist and businesswoman.

Lowden is the first Republican in the race to go on television, though Reid has already spent millions on a series of television ads in the fall.

Lowden led the crowded GOP field in fundraising in the fourth quarter of 2009, raising $819,000. She ended the year with nearly $500,000 in her campaign account. New York investment banker John Chachas had by far the most cash on hand of the Republican contenders, with $1.7 million in the bank at the end of the year, thanks in large part to his own self-funding.

Reid reported $8.7 million in cash on hand.