John James, the Republican hoping to unseat Democratic Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow in November, says the inclusion of a footage containing a swastika in a campaign ad was a "terrible error."

"I'm responsible for everything that our team does and fails to do and I will do everything in my power to make sure this never ever happens again," said James, a U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq. " ... This is also an indication of how low people are willing to go ... Sen. Stabenow will say and do anything to get re-elected."

James called a press conference Monday, Oct. 15 in Livonia after controversy arose surrounding the appearance of a swastika on a bulletin board that appears in a campaign commercial. When asked by a reporter if he knew what school the footage was recorded in, James said he did not and that it came from stock video.

James took the opportunity to play a new commercial his campaign plans to release that begins with the candidate saying his father "grew up in the Jim Crow South, but he persevered."

The swastika controversy made it's way to the public shortly after James and Stabenow held the second of two debates in two days on Monday afternoon at the Motor City Casino and Hotel hosted by the Detroit Economic Club.

The candidates also debated in Grand Rapids on Sunday.

Read more MLive election coverage here.