The family of the late Robert C. Byrd is angry after the GOP nominee for his U.S. Senate seat included an image from Byrd's West Virginia memorial service in a TV attack ad.
But the campaign of Republican John Raese is defending its use of the image. The image shows President Barack Obama sitting with Gov. Joe Manchin at the state Capitol service.
The ad seeks to tie Obama to Manchin, the Democrat running to fill the remainder of Byrd's term. The ad claims Manchin would support Obama's policies — namely the health care overhaul — while Raese would not.
A statement e-mailed to The Associated Press from Byrd's family calls the ad tasteless and insensitive.
Raese campaign manager Jim Dornan says the image is stock footage and called the flap a non-issue.
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