DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards calls on his party to “have a little guts” and be a voice for working people in a television ad set to begin airing in Iowa on Thursday.

In the 60-second spot titled “Heroes,” Edwards said it is time for the Democratic Party to represent America’s working men and women.

“It is time for our party, the Democratic Party, to show a little backbone, to have a little guts, to stand up for working men and women,” the former North Carolina senator says. “If we are not their voice, they will never have a voice.”

Edwards also talks about his wife, Elizabeth, who has incurable breast cancer, and says that after 12 hours of tests and getting the news, they decided they would try to be that voice for regular Americans.

“We’re not going to quietly go away. Instead we’re going to go out and fight for what it is we believe in,” he says.

The ad features Edwards speaking at a campaign stop and images of what he refers to as the real heroes – a waitress pouring coffee, a woman kissing a young boy, a nurse assisting a hospital patient, a man on a tractor and others.

“If you’re looking for heroes, don’t look to me. Don’t look to Elizabeth. We have support. We have health care. We have the American people behind us,” Edwards says. “Look to them. They are the ones who we speak for. They are the ones that we stand up for.”

According to information compiled by another presidential campaign, Edwards spent $700,000 to air the ad for two weeks, a significant buy in Iowa markets. The campaign said they will continue advertising in the state constantly through the Jan. 3 caucuses.

It was Edwards’ first television ad in Iowa, the state that traditionally kicks off the presidential nominating season. He already has been on the airwaves in New Hampshire.