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Nov 4, 2006 11:07 am US/Central
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Hatch Admits He May Have Misspoke
DFL Candidate For Governor Said He Thought He Called Reporter 'A Republican Hack,' And Not 'A Republican Whore'
St. Paul (AP) ―
DFL gubernatorial candidate Mike Hatch now says it's possible he did call a male reporter "a Republican whore."
Hatch at first denied using that epithet, saying he thought he called him a "Republican hack."
In a debate Friday night, Hatch said it's possible he did use the word "whore," but he doesn't think he did.
He also said he regrets how he handled the flap but doesn't think his temper would undermine his ability to lead.
Forum Communications Co., which owns several Minnesota newspapers, reported that Hatch lashed out at a reporter questioning him about a gaffe by his running mate, Judi Dutcher, on Thursday.
In a campaign stop earlier in the week, Dutcher was stumped by a question about E-85, an ethanol blend. According to the Forum account, a reporter was asking Hatch about Dutcher's knowledge of ethanol and why she wasn't available to discuss the issue.
The Forum account said Hatch abruptly ended the interview with: "You're nothing more than a Republican whore. Goodbye," and then hung up.
Hatch, speaking to reporters earlier Friday, said: "My recollection is that I said a Republican hack." During the evening debate, he said he wasn't going to dispute with the reporter.
He said he offered to put Dutcher in touch with the reporter, Scott Wente, whom he described as "very aggressive."
"It's just, he was coming on very, very strong, over the top, and he was, I had offered to him to talk to Judi Dutcher, if he wanted to really know," Hatch said. "He kept asking about why didn't Judi know and I simply didn't have the answer. I said do you want to talk to her. He was very, very aggressive. I said, `Listen, you're acting like a Republican hack. I'm going to get her to call you. But frankly, you're acting like a Republican hack."'
"But I know he's got a tape of this thing, he should play the tape."
Don Davis, Forum Communications' Capitol bureau chief, said the organization stands by the story. He declined to say whether Wente taped the conversation. He also declined to make Wente available for interviews. Davis said Hatch didn't offer an interview with Dutcher during the original conversation, but called back later to do so.
Asked about the decision to write about the exchange, Davis said: "It's a comment that gives out an insight to an important candidate."
He said it appeared in at least four Forum Communications dailies, in Duluth, Red Wing, Willmar and Worthington.
Hatch has cultivated a tough-guy image in two terms as attorney general, a period where he filed lawsuits or otherwise challenged banks, insurance companies, health providers and utilities. Republicans have portrayed him as overbearing and unfit for office, even a bully.
Hatch said his temperament is no secret.
"I've been attorney general for eight years, I was commerce commissioner for eight years -- the public knows me," he said.
"They know who I am, they know I'm an advocate. I am who I am."
Republicans pounced on Hatch's comment with a news release first thing Friday morning. Later in the day, five female GOP lawmakers spoke out against him at a Capitol news conference.
"Pressure is something that legislators and governors have to get used to. They have to function very well under pressure up at the Capitol," said Rep. Karen Klinzing of Woodbury. "It concerns me that we have a candidate for governor who resorts to name-calling."
The story's timing will boost its importance as voters start to pay attention the weekend before the election, said Steven Schier, a political scientist at Carleton College in Northfield.
"It wouldn't surprise me if the state GOP starts cutting ads based on these events and they start running this weekend -- the E-85 Republican whore ads," Schier said.
Forum Communications has endorsed the incumbent, GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty.
During the debate, Pawlenty said: "The larger issue now is not Judi's comments or lack of awareness about E-85. It's the attorney general's handling of the situation. Sadly, he has a long record of this type of behavior and these kind of comments.
This isn't new and it's just now coming through in this campaign."
(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)