COLUMBIA, S.C. - Democratic presidential hopeful Dick Gephardt launched a radio ad in South Carolina on Thursday to counter rival Howard Dean's ads that aired on stations with large black audiences.

Gephardt's first ad in the state introduces the Missouri congressman as the only candidate who has "led the fight against every bad trade agreement that failed to protect our jobs - NAFTA, the China trade deal and fast track trade negotiations."

Dean's campaign challenged Gephardt to run his own messages he after took issue with Dean's ads earlier this month.

Gephardt said he wanted to set the record straight when Dean's ads asked "Has anyone really stood up against George Bush and his policies?"

"We're responding, but we're also just getting Dick's record out there," said campaign spokeswoman Kim Molstre. "He's the only major candidate in the race who has stood up for South Carolina jobs."

Dean, the former Vermont governor who became the front-runner after a summer surge in the polls and in fund raising, has become a target of his opponents in the race for the White House.

The latest polls show Gephardt trailing Dean in South Carolina and New Hampshire but tying him for the lead in Iowa.

Dean's campaign launched its ads across South Carolina to attract blacks, who could make up almost half the voters in the state's first-in-the-South Democratic primary Feb. 3.

Gephardt's 60-second radio ad in South Carolina will run indefinitely in all of the state's major markets to attract black voters, Molstre said.

Gephardt also wants to make it clear South Carolinians need to get rid of President Bush, she said.

"South Carolina has been losing a lot of jobs under this president," Molstre said. "The African-American community in South Carolina has been hard hit."