WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 (UPI) -- Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jim DeMint of South Carolina has apologized for saying gays and unmarried mothers should not teach in public schools.
DeMint, a three-term House veteran, said he regretted the comments made in a recent debate because they distracted voters from "real issues" such as jobs and national security.
However, he stopped short of retracting the statements, the Washington Post reported.
Regarding abortion, DeMint said he would outlaw the procedure under all circumstances, including rape and incest.
His Democratic opponent is Inez Tenenbaum, South Carolina's superintendent of education, and polls generally show DeMint leading Tenenbaum.
But she has been hammering his support of a bill to create a 23 percent national sales tax while eliminating the Internal Revenue Service, federal income tax and estate tax.
DeMint criticized Tenenbaum's education record, saying South Carolina ranks "dead last" in SAT scores and has the nation's "worst graduation rate."
Tenenbaum said during her six-year term, SAT scores "went up for five years in a row, sometimes dramatically."
