(CNN) - Democratic Senate candidate Michelle Nunn of Georgia is playing up her work for former Republican President George H.W. Bush in the first television commercial of her Senate campaign.
"While leading President Bush's Points of Light Foundation, we grew it into the world's largest organization dedicated to volunteer service," Nunn says in the ad.[twitter-follow screen_name='politicalticker'][twitter-follow screen_name='psteinhausercnn']
Nunn was chief executive of the nonprofit volunteer organization before taking a leave of absence to run for the Senate.
Democrats hope Nunn is their ticket to winning the Republican-held open Senate seat in Georgia, a state with changing demographics. GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss announced last year that he wouldn't run for re-election in 2014.
While Georgia's Latino and African-American populations - traditional Democratic voting blocs - are increasing, it's still considered a red state. It remained comfortably in the Republican camp in the 2012 presidential election, and the GOP currently controls all of its statewide offices.
So it shouldn't be a surprise that Nunn highlighted her work with a high-profile Republican such as Bush, as she also did last July when she announced her Senate bid.
Nunn is the daughter of Sam Nunn, who represented Georgia for 24 years in the Senate and was known as a moderate Democrat with strong foreign policy and national security credentials.
"Some people ask me why, with all the dysfunction in Washington, I'm running for Senate. In the end, I think it comes down to me being an optimist," Nunn says in the spot.
"I've seen firsthand the power of individuals to work with businesses, charitable and religious organizations to make change. I know things can be better."
Nunn's campaign tells CNN that the spot speaks for itself. The campaign characterizes the ad buy as "major," but refused to give specifics on how much money is being spent to run the spot, or when and where it will run on television.
National Republicans were quick to respond to Nunn's commercial.
"Democrat Michelle Nunn's first ad is just smoke-and-mirrors, because her first vote in Washington will be to re-elect Harry Reid as the leader of the Senate," said Republican National Committee Spokesman Jahan Wilcox.
"Given that Senator Reid openly admits that Michelle Nunn is crucial to implementing President Barack Obama's agenda, it's clear she'll be anything but bipartisan in the U.S. Senate."
Nunn's first ad comes just a few days after the Ending Spending Action Fund, a pro-Republican outside group, went up with a TV commercial tying the Democrat to the President and to the Affordable Care Act, which is better known as Obamacare.
While Nunn does not face any major opposition for the Democratic nomination, Reps. Paul Broun, Phil Gringrey and Jack Kingston, former Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel and businessman David Perdue are the major candidates in a crowded Republican field battling for the GOP Senate nod.
Democrats currently hold a 55-45 majority in the Senate (53 Democrats and two Independents who caucus with the party), but are defending 21 of the 36 seats up in November, with half of those seats in red or purple states.
Georgia and Kentucky are the two states where Democrats feel they have a good chance at winning back GOP-held seats.
Politico was first to report on Nunn's first ad.