WASHINGTON -- Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes (D), who is fighting to unseat Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), is out with a new campaign ad featuring Bill Clinton.

The ad, which will begin airing statewide on Thursday, marks the first time this cycle that the former president has appeared in an ad for a Senate candidate.

"What’s being a senator about, anyway?" Clinton asks in the 30-second spot, which the campaign shared in advance with The Huffington Post. "One candidate believes it’s about getting new jobs, getting good jobs, giving middle class people a chance to give their kids a decent life. Nobody can tell me it’s not a senator’s job to create jobs! And I choose Alison, because she will work with people from both parties to do what’s right for you. Send Alison to the Senate."

Grimes' candidacy has long been a priority for Clinton; he has already made two trips to Kentucky to campaign for her. The first visit, in February, was his first 2014 campaign stop on behalf of a candidate.

“I am honored to have President Clinton’s continued support in this race,” Grimes said Wednesday. “This campaign is about the possibilities of tomorrow and building Kentucky not just for our generation, but for future generations.”

Grimes' father, Jerry Lundergan, is a former chairman of the Kentucky Democratic Party and a longtime friend of Clinton's.

In August, Grimes said she was proud to call herself "a Clinton Democrat." The former president remains popular in the state.

HuffPost Pollster, which averages the publicly available polling in the race, currently shows McConnell leading Grimes.

Clinton also appeared in an ad this cycle for former Rep. Marjorie Margolies (D-Pa.), who unsuccessfully ran in a four-way Democratic primary in Pennsylvania's 13th congressional district. Margolies is Chelsea Clinton's mother-in-law.

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