Senate Hopeful Lee Whitnum Calls US Rep. Chris Murphy a 'Whore'

US Senate hopeful and Greenwich author Lee Whitnum made some controversial comments about her opponents during a televised debate that was broadcast on NBC Connecticut Thursday.

In her closing remarks, Whitnum sharply criticized current Congressman Chris Murphy over his pro-Israel stance, saying, “I’m dealing with a whore here who sells his soul to AIPAC [The American Israel Public Affairs Committee], who will say anything for the job.”

Whitnum also referred to state representative William Tong as “ignorant” as she ran out of time in the live televised event.

In his closing remarks, a visibly angry Murphy said although he had advocated for all the nominee hopefuls to be part of the debates, “I might think twice about that with that kind of awful language being used on the airwaves.”

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Whitnum, who is considered a long-shot in the US Senate race, made headlines in March when Gov. Dannel P. Malloy filed a protective order against her, in connection with a lawsuit she brought against the governor for slander.

Whitnum, who filed the lawsuit in 2010, when Malloy was still mayor of Stamford, alleges he damaged her reputation when he characterized comments she made during the 2008 Democratic primary between herself and now- about the American Israel Public Affairs Committee as anti-Semitic.

In a statement, the governor’s office was careful to say that the civil motion filed is so Malloy doesn't need to respond to correspondence from Whitnum, and should not be misconstrued as a restraining order.

Whitnum has made numerous controversial statements about local and state lawmakers on a variety of issues in recent years, including when after she brought a lawsuit “for violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment for the multiple displays of the Star of David and holding the Bar Mitzvah of Aner Shofty on Town of Greenwich property” last year.