The truth hurts.

Via KRTV:

Dr. Kelli Ward is trying to unseat Senator John McCain in the upcoming primary election.

Her campaign staff caused a controversy this week when they attached Ward's name and picture to an old Mitt Romney campaign ad.

The ad, from 2008, features images of Hillary Clinton and McCain at podiums, as a narrator reads a list of issues the two have similar views on.

"On amnesty for illegal immigrants? They agree," the narrator says.

Romney and McCain were in a battle for the Republican nomination at the time.

Ward's staff used the same exact ad, narration and all, and just attached video of Ward's approval at the end, replacing Romney's approval message.

"We repurposed an old Romney ad from 2008," Ward admitted Thursday.

Still, she downplayed the criticism.

"The McCain campaign hates that ad, apparently, and complained to the media," she said.

Ward said she did not consider copyright violations, noting, "…it's out there in the public domain."

Eight years later, Ward says it's worth pushing the same message about Clinton and McCain.

"The message still resonates. If it didn't, the McCain camp wouldn't have complained so quickly," Ward said.

Lorna Romero, with the McCain campaign, released a statement, saying, "First, she entertains 'chemtrails' and other bizarre conspiracy theories, and now she steals campaign ads from 2008 and posts them as her own – it's hard to take Kelli Ward seriously at this point."

Romney's attorneys told Ward to remove the ad.

Ward's staff removed their version, and replaced it with the old Romney ad, with Romney's approval message at the end.