State Sen. Vincent Sheheen, the Democratic candidate for governor, apologized Monday for his slip-of-the tongue last week when he called Gov. Nikki Haley an offensive name.

“My mom’s around and I can promise you I don’t use that word, the word that people are claiming that I’ve used. I don’t use it in private, I don’t use it in public," Sheheen told Charleston radio host Bryan Crabtree said. "But if anybody heard, and certainly my words were garbled I apologize because I don’t want to send that message to anybody."

During a campaign stop in Florence last week, Sheheen was caught on video saying: "We are going to escort whore out the door."

Sheheen immediately corrects himself: "We're going to escort her out the door."

The crowd laughs and Sheheen grins.

On Monday, Sheheen clarified what happened with Crabtree.

“Sometimes when you’re speaking five or 10 times a day, your words get a little bit garbled," Sheheen said. "When they get garbled, and it does happen to me, I go back and say exactly what I meant, and you heard in that clip that I meant her, h-e-r.”

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