JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (Legal Newsline)-Chris Koster, the Democratic candidate for Missouri attorney general, said he will begin airing his first television ad of the race.

Koster is in a heated contest with fellow state senator, Republican Mike Gibbons. Both men are vying for the office being vacated by Attorney General Jay Nixon, the Democratic nominee for governor.

Koster's campaign said the 30-second ad, "Fighting for Everyone," will tout Koster's law enforcement experience. Koster is a former longtime Cass County (Missouri) prosecutor.

He has pledged to aggressively pursue prosecution of Medicaid fraud and other consumer protections.

"As attorney general, I'll be fighting for everyone: Every victim of corporate greed, everyone who's been preyed on, ripped off, or taken advantage of," Koster says in the ad. "No one's too big to be beyond the law's reach, and no one's too small to be beyond the law's help."

The ad begins running Saturday in Kansas City and St. Louis and will continue on the airwaves until Election Day.

Last month, the Democratic Attorneys General Association gave Koster's campaign a $200,000 boost after a bruising and expensive Democratic primary that was ultimately decided by 829 votes.

For Republicans, the race is seen as a competitive in part because it's an open seat, said Carrie Cantrell, spokeswoman for the Republican State Leadership Committee.

The group, which includes the Republican Attorneys General Association, this month gave Gibbons' campaign $1.2 million.

From Legal Newsline: Reach reporter Chris Rizo at chrisrizo@legalnewsline.com.