Under-pressure Hilary Clinton airs first campaign ads

Facing increased competition from within her own party, Hillary Clinton is spending $2 million airing the first television ads of her presidential race in the early voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire.

The ads, which start today and run statewide, focus on Clinton’s work on behalf of families and her relationship with her late mother — central themes of her early campaign. The spots are part of an effort to reintroduce one of the country’s biggest political celebrities as a progressive fighter who understands the struggles of average Americans.

“After law school she could have gone to a big firm but instead went to work for the Children’s Defence Fund. In Arkansas, she fought for school reform to change lives forever. Then as first lady she helped get healthcare for 8m kids,” says a narrator in one of the ads. “You probably know the rest.”

A second ad focuses almost entirely on the life story of Clinton’s late mother, Dorothy Rodham, who overcame a bleak childhood marked by abandonment, neglect and poverty.

“I think about all the Dorothys all over America who fight for their families, who never give up,” says Clinton in the ad. “That’s why I’m doing this. That’s why I’ve always done this. For all the Dorothys.”

The new spots come amid fresh speculation that Vice President Joe Biden may challenge Clinton for the party’s nomination.While she remains the front-runner in the race, she’s seen declines in her favourability ratings and views of her trustworthiness. In recent weeks, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has attracted large crowds with his liberal economic message — evidence, his team claims, of a hunger in the party for an alternative toClinton.So far, he’s resisted attacking Clinton, focusing instead on contrasting his more liberal views with hers on issues like Wall Street regulations and the Keystone pipeline.“I have a lot of respect for HillaryClinton,” he said in an interview with ABC News. But, he added: “She and I disagree on many issues.”