Endangered North Dakota Rep. Earl Pomeroy started airing an ad statewide late last week that touts his work on the new health care law. It’s a unique move for a Democratic Congressman in a competitive race.

“North Dakota doctors, nurses and hospitals all praise Earl Pomeroy because he listened and then made sure the health care bill protected North Dakota, improved Medicare and kept our rural hospitals open, saving lives and putting North Dakota first,” an announcer says.

The ad is a response to commercials from Republican state Rep. Rick Berg and outside groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the 60 Plus Association, that have attacked Pomeroy for his vote, according to Pomeroy spokesman Brenden Timpe.

“North Dakotans understand that Earl works with the best interests of our state in mind, and that goes for every issue, including health care,” Timpe said. He added that Pomeroy has often talked about health care in editorial board meetings and interviews.

The ad goes on to attack Berg for health care-related votes he has taken in the state legislature.

“Rick Berg put big insurance first, voting against insurance for North Dakota children and here voting to make it easier for insurance companies to deny coverage,” the narrator says.

Berg’s campaign, on the other hand, noted that Pomeroy did not hold town hall meetings to solicit voters’ opinions on the bill. The challenger has his own health care-related ad up statewide as of two days ago.

“Nearly 70 percent of North Dakotans did not want Obamacare. Seniors did not want the $500 billion in cuts to Medicare. Middle class did not want the massive tax increases,” a narrator says. “But Earl Pomeroy chose Washington over North Dakota with his vote on Obamacare.”

The health care commercial isn’t the first groundbreaking Pomeroy ad this cycle: An earlier ad showed the Blue Dog Democrat with President George W. Bush as he signed Medicare Part D, the prescription drug benefit, into law.

Pomeroy’s campaign got good news Saturday when he was endorsed by Fargo Mayor Dennis Walaker, and an ad featuring him will be released later this week. The Congressman also got the endorsement of the National Rifle Association, according to his campaign.