A Democratic House candidate said that criticism of his failure to oppose a ban on late-term abortion was a lie akin to accusing him of being “at Auschwitz.”

During a recent interview, Nick Casey, who is running in West Virginia’s second congressional district, took issue with an ad highlighting his opposition to a late-term abortion ban. Casey not only called the ad “a vicious lie,” but said, “It’s like they said I was at Auschwitz — it isn’t true.”

Embedded video

Casey also criticized pro-life advocates in West Virginia who backed a bill banning abortions after 20 weeks in the state legislature, which was eventually vetoed by Governor Earl Ray Tomblin, rather than a bill banning it after 24 weeks, which Casey says would have been signed into law.

The race is to replace Republican congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito, who is running for the state’s open Senate seat. Limited polling has shown Mooney with a sizeable lead, and the Cook Political Report rates the race as “Leans Republican.”