In her first television ad, state Sen. Julie Lassa focuses on cleaning up Washington, D.C., and introducing herself to voters. The Wisconsin Democrat is running against former District Attorney Sean Duffy (R) in the race to replace retiring Rep. David Obey (D).

“Growing up on a dairy farm, my father taught me not to take any bull and how to milk a dollar for all it’s worth, two skills they could use today in Washington,” she says as a cow moos nearby.

Lassa says she wants to cut Members’ pay until unemployment drops and to eliminate their raises until the budget is balanced. The ad builds on a theme in the Lassa campaign: Last week, she released a plan to clean up Washington. Campaign manager Rick Fromberg said the effort is a response to what she hears from voters.

“I think it’s important that what we talk about is what Julie hears every day out on the campaign trail,” he said on a press call Thursday morning. “This is an ad that’s rooted in her values and what she wants to do. She is running her own campaign, and she’s going to talk about what’s important to her and what’s important to the voters of the 7th district.”

Lassa won a special election to the state Senate in 2003 after serving in the state Assembly. She entered the Congressional race in May after Obey announced he would step down, and she had raised $313,000 by the end of June. She’s among the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s Red to Blue candidates, and this district is among those where the DCCC has reserved TV time.

On the other side, Duffy joined the race before Obey dropped out. Best known nationally as an alumnus of the “Real World” TV show, Duffy served as special prosecutor and then district attorney in Ashland County. He was named to the top tier of the National Republican Congressional Committee’s Young Guns program and had raised $971,000 by the end of June.

Lassa and Duffy are expected to win their primaries, which will be held Sept. 14.