Hillary Clinton tells how she is inspired by her mother who was abandoned

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Democrat front-runner launches $2million ads in Iowa and New Hampshire
Talks of her late mother's childhood of abandonment, neglect and poverty
Clinton campaign keen to show she understands struggles of Americans

Published: 03:11 EST, 3 August 2015 | Updated: 05:46 EST, 3 August 2015

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Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton is launching her first 2016 presidential campaign ads featuring the story of her mother's troubled life.

The $2million commercials, which will air in the early primary states of Iowa and New Hampshire from Tuesday, focus on her work with families and her relationship with her late mother Dorothy Rodham.

One advert centers almost entirely on Mrs Rodham, who overcame a bleak childhood marked by abandonment, neglect and poverty, before she died in 2011.

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Inspiration: U.S. Presidential candidate, Senator Hillary Clinton, pictured here with her mother Dorothy Rodham in 2007, reveals she was her biggest inspiration

She was described as having a 'Dickensian' childhood after being abandoned by her parents when she was eight, and her sister three, and sent to live with strict, unloving grandparents in California.

At the age of 14, she left their house to work for $3 per week as a mother's helper. She eventually arrived in Chicago, where she married Hugh Rodham, a traveling salesman, and raised Clinton and her two brothers.

Clinton has often cited her mother as an inspiration, recounting how she pushed her daughter to stand up for herself.

'When I think about why I’m doing this I think about my mother Dorothy,' Clinton says in the advertisement.

'She was abandoned by her parents at the age of eight, sent from Chicago to LA to live with grandparents who didn’t want her.

'But people showed her kindness, gave her a chance. Like the teacher who saw my mother had no money for food and started bringing her extra from home.

'When she needed a champion someone was there. I think about all the Dorothys all over America who fight for their families, who never give up.

'That's why I'm doing this. That's why I've always done this. For all the Dorothys.'

The adverts come amid fresh speculation that Vice President Joe Biden may challenge Clinton for the party's nomination.

While she remains the front-runner in the race, she's faced signs of weakness in recent weeks, including declines in her favorability ratings and views of her trustworthiness.

In recent weeks, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has attracted large crowds with his liberal economic message — evidence his team says — of a hunger in the party for an alternative to Clinton.

So far, he's resisted attacking Clinton, focusing instead on contrasting his more liberal views with hers on issues like Wall Street regulations and the Keystone pipeline.

Hillary Clinton dedicates Presidential bid to mother Dorothy

Ad campaign: Hillary Clinton is launching her first 2016 presidential campaign ads, featuring the story of her mother's life, in primary states Iowa and New Hampshire

Family values: US Democratic presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton arrives with her daughter, Chelsea (right), her mother, Dorothy Rodham (left middle) and husband, former President Bill Clinton, in 2008

'I have a lot of respect for Hillary Clinton,' he said in an interview with ABC News on Sunday. But, he added: 'She and I disagree on many issues.'

Clinton aides, meanwhile, have been trying to lower expectations for her primary performance by arguing that both Iowa, where the state's caucuses bring out the most passionate party voters, and New Hampshire, next door to Sanders home state of Vermont, favor their competition.

'After law school she could have gone to a big firm but instead went to work for the Children's Defense Fund. In Arkansas, she fought for school reform to change lives forever. Then as first lady she helped get health care for eight million kids,' says a narrator in one of the ads. ' You probably know the rest.'

The emphasis on family issues is a change in course from Clinton's failed White House bid in 2008, when her campaign focused on her experience and toughness.

Though Clinton has spent decades on the American political stage, her team insists that voters don't really know much about her background.

They've focused on reintroducing the former Secretary of State, presidential candidate, and New York senator as a grandmother-in-chief, highlighting her family relationships and embracing her role in history as the first potential female president.

A number of Republican candidates have already begun airing ads, attempting to distinguish themselves in a crowded primary field. Florida Senator Marco Rubio's campaign has invested more than $12 million in ads that start airing at the end of the year in Iowa, New Hampshire and other states.

Ohio Governor John Kasich has spent $1 million and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's presidential campaign nearly $500,000 on spots in the early-voting state of New Hampshire.