Maybe Philadelphia native and Pennsylvania Senate candidate Katie McGinty was just feeling confident after winning a prime speaking spot at the Democratic National Convention. But she strayed from her usually composed manner of speech Monday, saying in front of a crowd of people that her opponent is “an asshole, damnit.”
The comment was made during a demonstration put on by members of the Communications Workers of America union who were calling for an increase in the federal minimum wage. Slogans appearing on their signage read: “Raise it, damnit,” with regard to the minimum wage. McGinty apparently took a step further and echoed a comment made by CWA President Christopher Shelton.
Here’s video of the comment:
McGinty apologized this afternoon, saying: “I regret the language I used and apologize to Senator Toomey. Our campaign is about moving Pennsylvania forward and we’re going to continue to talk about the issues that are important to Pennsylvania families.”
Sen. Pat Toomey’s camp declined to comment on the matter, but did tweet this:
Toomey and McGinty are locked in one of the most competitive senate races in the country as Toomey is seeking a second term, though McGinty, who has never before held elected office, is just a few points behind Toomey in an average of polls conducted so far. McGinty also has voter registration on her side — Democrats enjoy a registration advantage of about a million people in Pennsylvania and historically perform better during presidential election years when turnout is highest.
McGinty is slated to address the convention Thursday night ahead of Clinton’s big speech.
