Candidate loses GOP backing over ‘sex advice’ tweets

Camden County's GOP leader pulled the party's support for State Senate candidate Phil Mitsch this morning, saying his apology for a tweet that suggested a woman should be "a whore in the bedroom" was not good enough.

"I found his apology overshadowed by the kind of excuse-making that is found too often in politics," Thomas Booth, Jr. said in a statement. "Mr. Mitsch has failed to take ownership of his mistake."

Mitsch, 62, a former real estate broker from Merchantville, posted a tweet to his more than 44,000 Twitter followers that read, "Women, you increase your odds of keeping your men by being faithful, a lady in the living room and a whore in the bedroom." He posted it several times, including most recently on Sept. 2.

Although Mitsch's campaign coordinator, Bill Macready, said in an email last night that Mitsch had removed the "whore" tweet, it remained on Mitsch's page Friday morning.

Mitsch is running against Democratic State Sen. James Beach in the Sixth Legislative District covering a good part of Camden Coounty.

Neither Mitsch nor his campaign manager could immediately be reached for comment. On Thursday, Mitsch said he would run regardless of the party's support.

"I'm going to run, absolutely," Mitsch said in an interview. "I'm not worried about a party. Who has supported me? GOP who? Come on, it's a joke. I'm out there on my own."

Earlier this week, Mitsch defended his tweet, telling the Inquirer editorial board on Wednesday that it was "a great tip" that "shows the utmost respect for women."

On Thursday morning, he explained that he was reiterating "a timeworn adage" and would not apologize for it.

Later Thursday, Mitsch's campaign issued a statement that said he was sorry if he offended anyone, but that he was quoting someone else.

"The specific tweet in question is an age-old saw most notably quoted by Jerry Hall, Mick Jagger's ex-wife, in the early 1990's: 'My mother said in order to keep a man, you must be a maid in the living room, a cook in the kitchen, and a whore in the bedroom,' " the Republican candidate said in the statement. "I updated her quote with the fact that men should 'be faithful, a gentleman in the living room and a stud in the bedroom,' but looking back, I didn't update the original terminology enough to reflect 21st century sensibilities."

Booth, who initially stuck by Mitsch, calling him "a fantastic candidate" who made a mistake, said he gave Mitsch every opportunity to offer a proper apology for the tweet. Mitsch failed, he said.

"His excuse – that he was merely 'paraphrasing' what others have said – demonstrates a fundamental failure to appreciate why his statement was so wrong," Booth said in his statement. "There are many 'old adages' out there and the mere fact that such adages may have been around for a while or may have been used by some semi-famous celebrity does not make them correct or acceptable."

The state GOP abandoned Mitsch on Wednesday, saying his tweet makes him "unfit for public office." His apology did not change their stance, said spokesman Rick Gorka.

Political observers have said Mitsch has a tough race ahead of him, regardless of his comment on Twitter. Democratic voters outnumber Republicans in the district more than 2 to 1. Beach, 64, a former Camden County clerk who used to teach in Camden City schools, has represented the district since 2009.