State Sen. Thelma Harper (D-Nashville) hosted Nashville media this morning to unveil the first advertisement being aired in Tennessee for the Hillary Clinton for President campaign.

Harper called on Democrats to "keep an open mind and an open heart" and learn as much as they can about the candidates prior to Tennessee's Feb. 5 presidential preference primary. She said that she believes others will come to the same conclusion she has and that Clinton is the "right person to lead the country."

When asked about the increased tenor of the Democratic primary, especially between Clinton and main rival Barack Obama, Harper said that she was "here today to talk about Hillary Clinton" and why she should lead the country.

The Clinton ad, which started airing in some markets this morning, will be run statewide and is a basic introduction of the candidate to Tennessee voters. It focused on rising fuel prices, home ownership and the economy in general. Clinton campaign staffers on hand said the ad would be soon be up on the campaign Web site and that they will also soon be launching a Hillary site specific to Tennessee.

Main rival Barack Obama had some ads running in Tennessee that were pulled on Monday. Some Clinton supporters have opined that the ads being pulled mean Obama's committment to Tennessee is wavering, while the Obama campaign has maintained that they only meant to keep the ads on the air for early voters.