McCain airs TV ad hitting opponent for lobbying

John McCain’s re-election campaign has released its second set of television and radio ads attacking the Arizona senator’s primary opponent for his ties to Washington.

The ads point out that former U.S. Rep. J.D. Hayworth registered as a lobbyist in 2008, a year after he lost his re-election bid.

Hayworth is challenging McCain in the Republican primary and casting himself as a conservative Washington outsider. But the ads challenge that image, saying: “Outsider? A lobbyist is as inside Washington as it gets.”

Hayworth’s campaign released a statement saying Hayworth lobbied on one matter for an old friend. The statement also says that McCain once was a lobbyist for the Navy.

McCain’s last military assignment was the Navy’s liaison to the Senate.