Zachary Nunn

Iowa Republican U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn launched his first televised campaign ad for the general election, highlighting his role as a father, member of the U.S. Air Force and lawmaker as he faces a competitive reelection race.

The one-minute ad follows the Ankeny congressman’s morning routine, which includes a presunrise run, brewing coffee, getting his six children ready for school, and fishing his daughter’s Barbie out of the toilet before transitioning into his work in the U.S. Air Force Reserve and Congress.

“At home, he’s a husband and a dad, doing the same things families across Iowa do every day. And in Congress, he’s doing what he’s always done, serving, working across the aisle, fighting to lower costs, taking on fraud and corruption, and delivering results for families,” a voice says over images of Nunn spending time with his family and talking to voters.

Nunn, who is seeking a third term representing Iowa's 3rd Congressional District, is a colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve and has flown more than 700 combat hours, the ad notes.

“This ad is Zach's morning, and it's the morning of families across Iowa. It's who Zach is: a commonsense fighter who takes the kitchen table conversations you have after packing six lunches straight to the nation's capital — and works with anyone, Republican or Democrat, to deliver results that make a difference at Iowans' kitchen tables," Brendan Duffy, Nunn’s campaign manager, said in a statement.

The ad connects Nunn's family life and time in the military to his ability to deliver on bipartisan issues, including lowering costs and combating fraud and corruption.

It comes as the Republican congressman faces a challenge from Democrat Sarah Trone Garriott, an Iowa state senator from West Des Moines, to represent the purple district in Washington, D.C.

The matchup is poised to be one of the nation's top battleground contests in the midterms as race forecasters, including the Cook Political Report, have ranked it as a "toss-up," where either candidate could win.

The ad launch comes a week after Iowa’s primary election, where Nunn and Trone Garriott solidified their places on this fall’s ballot.