CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The family of the late Robert C. Byrd lashed out Sunday 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.

The campaign of Republican John Raese defended its use of the image, which shows President Obama sitting with Gov. Joe Manchin at the state Capitol ceremony marking Byrd's June 28 death. The ad seeks to tie Obama to Manchin, the Democrat running in a special election for what remains of Byrd's term.

"That's a stock photo. We had no idea it was from the memorial service," campaign manager Jim Dornan said Sunday.

Byrd's family said they were "deeply angered and disturbed" by the image's use and called for the campaign to withdraw the ad.

"This is a tasteless and insensitive act by Mr. Raese," said the statement. "His act is insulting to the memory of Robert Byrd and should have no place in a West Virginia political campaign."

One of Byrd's two daughters, Marjorie Byrd Moore of Virginia, e-mailed the statement to The Associated Press. She did not respond to requests for further comment Sunday.

Manchin contacted Moore and apologized about the ad after getting calls about it, Manchin campaign spokeswoman Sara Payne Scarbro said Sunday. Scarbro said the memorial was meant as a bipartisan, nonpolitical tribute to history's longest-serving member of Congress.

"To use that photo just truly shows the character of Mr. Raese," Scarbro said. "It shows what we can expect from Mr. Raese, and that is negative ads and negative campaigning."

But Dornan dismissed the flap as an attempt to distract from the ad's overall message: That Manchin would support Obama administration policies if elected, while Raese would not.

Obama lost West Virginia in 2008 and is not considered popular in the state.

"He's bringing up these ridiculous non-issues," Dornan said of Manchin.

Dornan also noted that the image shows Obama and Manchin smiling. "I think I would be more offended that Obama and Manchin were smiling and laughing at Byrd's memorial service," he said.

Dornan said the campaign also stands by its characterizations of this year's federal health-care overhaul, which it also seeks to link to Manchin.

The ad calls the new law "government-run health care." Such a system is not established in the legislation. Dornan echoed other critics of the overhaul who fear that a government-run insurance system is its inevitable consequence.

The ad also alleges that the overhaul will cut $400 billion from Medicare, which is a government-run program covering seniors. Dornan said that refers to estimates of reduced payments to private insurers who provide supplemental coverage to seniors through so-called Medicare Advantage plans.

The actuary for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has said that the legislation could slow the growth of Medicare spending by $571 billion through 2019, mostly by cutting those extra payments and eliminating fraud.

"Social Security and Medicare are part of the fabric of this country," Dornan said. "We ought to be working to save Social Security and Medicare, not cutting to the bone."

The Byrd family statement also noted that Raese had attacked Byrd when he unsuccessfully challenged Byrd's 2006 bid for a record ninth Senate term. Among other issues, Raese had cited Byrd's age -- he was 88 then, and 92 when he died -- and Byrd's decision to bury his wife of nearly 69 years, Erma, near a grandson's grave in a Virginia cemetery. Byrd was interred alongside his wife after a July funeral.