Senate candidate Cal Cunningham is launching the first television ad buy of the Democratic primary today with a 30-second bio piece aimed at introducing the former state Senator to more voters.

In the ad, Cunningham discusses his experience in the state Legislature and in the Army Reserves, where he was a military prosecutor in Iraq.

“I’m running for U.S. Senate to fight a different kind of war, against unfair trade deals with China and tax giveaways that send North Carolina Jobs overseas,” Cunningham says on screen.

Cunningham’s camp offered few details about the size of the ad campaign other than to say that it is the beginning of what will eventually be a statewide buy.

According to Republican ad trackers, of the three major media markets in North Carolina, the Cunningham ad was scheduled to only appear in Raleigh.

Cunningham’s top rivals in the primary are Secretary of State Elaine Marshall and Chapel Hill lawyer Kenneth Lewis.

National Democrats have pinned their hopes on Cunningham, but recent polls show Marshall has higher name identification. Lewis has been consolidating support among leaders in the state’s large black community.

If no candidate breaks 40 percent in the May 4 primary, the two highest vote-getters will face off in a June 22 runoff. The winner will challenge Sen. Richard Burr (R) in November.