Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) and his Republican challenger Chris Fields have canceled their final debate, the Star Tribune reported Monday, following a series of nasty personal exchanges at a debate last week.
The final debate was set to be held Tuesday. At their Thursday debate, Fields frequently accused Ellison of being corrupt, and Ellison called Fields a liar. Then, when Fields claimed that Ellison was behind a leak to the press of domestic violence allegations against him from 2006, and made allegations about Ellison’s own divorce, Ellison proceeded to call Fields a “low-life scumbag,” a “gutter-dweller,” and an “idiot.”
Later that day, Ellison issued a statement to apologize, saying in part: “In response to my opponent’s false statement, I made an uncivil reference to him. I should not have done so. I acted beneath my personal standard as a public official, and I apologize.”
