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Senate Candidate O'Rourke Apologizes For 'Demeaning' 1991 Student Article

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Democratic Texas Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke is apologizing for writing in Columbia University's student newspaper nearly 30 years ago that a Broadway musical featured actresses "whose only qualifications seem to be their phenomenally large breasts and tight buttocks."

In the Oct. 10, 1991, edition of the Columbia Daily Spectrum, O'Rourke criticized a production of "The Will Rogers Follies." Online searches suggest it was the only piece he wrote for his college newspaper.

The story was first reported Monday by Politico, which said an O'Rourke opponent flagged it.

In a statement, O'Rourke said he was "ashamed of what I wrote and I apologize. There is no excuse for making disrespectful and demeaning comments about women."

A three-term El Paso congressman, O'Rourke is trying to upset Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in November.

(© Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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