It begins.

Will Ainsworth became the first candidate for lieutenant governor to go up on the air after launching a statewide radio campaign Thursday.

The conservative state representative from Guntersville is airing spots on nearly 30 affiliate stations in the Yellowhammer Radio News Network, penetrating every major media market and reaching more than a million listeners statewide during the next week, said the network’s CEO, B.J. Ellis.

Ainsworth is running in the Republican Primary against Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh, the president of the Alabama Public Service Commission, and State Sen. Rusty Glover of Semmes.

The ad, which focuses on Ainsworth’s recent effort to pass legislation allowing teachers to carry firearms, can be heard below:

“More gun control is not the answer,” Ainsworth says in the ad. “As a dad, I know we have to keep our kids safe, but leaving all of the guns to the bad guys is not the answer.”

“That’s why I wrote a bill to allow specially-trained teachers to carry firearms on school campuses,” he continued. “Heaven forbid a shooter ever enters an Alabama school, but if they do, we owe it to our kids to protect them with more than a No. 2 pencil.”

The primary is June 5.

@jpepperbryars is the editor of Yellowhammer News and the author of American Warfighter