Washington (CNN) A Republican state candidate has apologized for sending out a flier attacking his opponent with anti-Semitic undertones that was rebuked by his own party.

A flier sent to voters Monday from Republican candidate Ed Charamut's campaign attacked his opponent, Democratic state Rep. Matthew Lesser, arguing he would be bad for senior citizens. But the ad featured a cartoon-like image of Lesser, who is Jewish, with a wide-eyed grin, clutching a wad of $100 bills.

The mailer came after 11 people were killed in a mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue on Saturday, which police have deemed a hate crime. It was the deadliest anti-Semitic incident in US history and has renewed scrutiny of anti-Semitism in the US.

On Wednesday, Charamut's campaign posted a statement on Facebook apologizing to Lesser, the Jewish Community and "anyone who found the mailer to be anything other then a depiction of policy differences between the two candidates."

The campaign said its intention for the mailer was never to be "anything more than a reflection of Mr. Lesser's policy record" and "in no way ever intended for the mailer to be about Mr. Lesser's religious background."

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