PARKINS, N. Ceona -- Recent polling shows former Senator and Parkins Mayor Pete Deetch (C) has stagnant popularity in his home state.
Deetch lost re-election to the Federal Senate in 2018, losing to Nationalist political novice Alexis Stotter by a 47%-50% margin.
However, the Conservative firebrand is rumored to be considering a political comeback, either by running for governor in 2020, or by challenging fellow Senators Anthony Campanelli (N) or Ken Estall, who are up for re-election.
It will be a tall order for the 79-year-old Deetch, who was widely condemned after he was recorded making racist and sexist comments to fellow senators and staff members.
One audio recording caught Deetch speaking about a fellow senator's chief of staff, whose name he couldn't remember.
"Oh what's her name? You know the gal I'm talking about. That brown girl with the African hair," Deetch said to one of his colleagues, during a discussion in the Deetch's office.
Deetch was referring to Adani Krishna, who is the chief of staff for Senator Tim Blakewell (N-Trinton).
Krishna has Indian heritage, not African.
And in another incident, Deetch reportedly complained to fellow Senator Allison Sweeten, a Nationalist from East Deschire, that "you god-damn women can't make up your mind," referring to Sweeten and the other female NAT senators, who were undecided on supporting one of Deetch's bills.
In yet another incident, Deetch went on a car ride to the other side of Mavocke with Senator Luke Gymbal (C-Ansleigha). The two senators and one of Gymbal's staff members stopped at a 7-11. Deetch was heard making derogatory comments about the owners of the convenience store.
"Oh they're all (7-11 stores) owned by god-damned Indians and Pakistanis these days, that's not how it used to be when I was a kid," Deetch said.
A Senate ethics investigation found Deetch in violation of Senate decorum, and ruled his behavior was "reprehensible, ignorant and unbecoming of a senator." He was not formally censured, though, or penalized.
Senate Minority Leader Jon Ralston (C-Ans.) said Deetch's "heart-felt apology" was punishment enough.
"Pete said some bad things. We confronted him about it. We told him it's not acceptable from any member of our caucus, he apologized to us, he apologized to those involved, and he promised it wouldn't happen again. The issue is closed as far as I'm concerned," Ralston said, when asked by reporters what internal party consequences Deetch faced.
Senators from both parties condemned Deetch's comments at the time. Debbie Madronas (N-DMG), the top Nationalist in the Senate, said they were "disgusting and embarrassing for the Senate."
Fellow North Ceona Senator Anthony Campanelli (N) said Deetch's words "are despicable, ignorant and elitist," while Elizabeth Graham, also a Nationalist from North Ceona, said she was "deeply disappointed" in Deetch's behavior.
Ken Estall, a fellow Conservative from North Ceona, said Deetch's words "reflect very poorly on North Ceona, and are in stark contrast to the values of acceptance, diversity and tolerance that North Ceonans champion."
But defenders of Deetch, including Nationalist Senator Vic Chambers (S. Ceona), who at 73, is closer in age to Deetch than many of the Senate's younger members, pointed out that Deetch apologized personally to those he insulted.
"I'm not saying what he said was okay, but he met privately with Adani Krishna and apologized. He met with our lady colleagues here in the Senate and apologized to them. And he even drove back to that 7-11 and apologized in person, in public, right in the middle of the store in front of customers and employees, and he apologized to the owners and the employees he offended," said Chambers.
"I think he made a clear effort to make things right and to fix his behavior. People make mistakes, we all say stupid and ignorant things from time to time. Doesn't make it okay, but the important thing is to learn from your mistakes and most importantly to make it right, and Pete did that, so I think we need to give him some credit for that," said Chambers.
During the 2018 campaign, Alexis Stotter and the state's NAT Party hammered Deetch, calling him "xenophobic" and "an old-fashioned racist and misogynist."
"How embarrassing is it for our state, that the dean of our state's Senate delegation, the most prominent person representing our state, a man who is a grandfather and who has many beautiful women and little granddaughters in his family, and who has many colleagues who are wonderful people of color...how embarrassing is it that this is what people see on the news about our state. He's making North Ceona look like a backwards, racist garbage dump. Our state is not that. We are better than that. Pete Deetch should be better than that. We can do better, we must do better," said Stotter during a televised debate.
Deetch apologized to voters during the televised debate, and asked for forgiveness.
"You know, back in my day, people said a lot of things, they used a lot of terms and phrases that now we consider offensive. And they are offensive. I should never have said those things. I said some really stupid things. Sometimes I put my foot in my mouth. Sometimes I speak before I think. Sometimes I let old school thoughts and words come out of my mouth. And I'm very sorry about that. It's not okay. There's no excuse for what I did. It was wrong and I am very sorry to all the people I offended with my words. All I can do is ask for forgiveness and promise to do better, and I have done that many, many times, and I will continue to pledge to improve and be a better person," said Deetch.
His many apologies weren't enough to save him from electoral defeat in the 2018 elections.
But now, the veteran Conservative politician is hoping to make a comeback.
Sources close to Deetch say he has quietly been reaching out to high-ranking Conservatives in the state's CNS Party.
The sources, who asked to remain anonymous because they were not permitted to speak to the media, told GNN that Deetch would prefer to be back in the Senate.
"He loves it there. He loves debating, he loves fighting for North Ceona and opposing the national government. But he also loves the camaraderie and the bipartisan friendships that he made," said one source. "Pete is very conservative. But some of his best friends are Nationalists who are quite liberal. He is set in his ways, he is very opinionated. He'll never convert to the other side. But he has a good heart, despite his rough exterior. And I think people of both parties see that in Mavocke, and he's hoping the people of North Ceona will give him another chance and will look past his flaws and vote him back into the Senate."
The Senate may be his first choice, but Deetch is also considering a run for governor, the sources said.
Current Governor Tom Cozier (C) will step down in 2020 due to term limits, creating an open governors seat.
However, recent poll by the Opinion Research on a hypothetical match up in the 2020 governor's race found Deetch trailing Elizabeth Graham 44% - 54%, and Deetch trailing former state attorney general John Ennis 44% - 53%, respectively.
Opinion Research is currently conducting polling on potential 2020 Senate races, with results expected in the next few weeks.
A spokesman for the former senator declined to comment on Deetch's future plans.
Deetch lost re-election to the Federal Senate in 2018, losing to Nationalist political novice Alexis Stotter by a 47%-50% margin.
However, the Conservative firebrand is rumored to be considering a political comeback, either by running for governor in 2020, or by challenging fellow Senators Anthony Campanelli (N) or Ken Estall, who are up for re-election.
It will be a tall order for the 79-year-old Deetch, who was widely condemned after he was recorded making racist and sexist comments to fellow senators and staff members.
One audio recording caught Deetch speaking about a fellow senator's chief of staff, whose name he couldn't remember.
"Oh what's her name? You know the gal I'm talking about. That brown girl with the African hair," Deetch said to one of his colleagues, during a discussion in the Deetch's office.
Deetch was referring to Adani Krishna, who is the chief of staff for Senator Tim Blakewell (N-Trinton).
Krishna has Indian heritage, not African.
And in another incident, Deetch reportedly complained to fellow Senator Allison Sweeten, a Nationalist from East Deschire, that "you god-damn women can't make up your mind," referring to Sweeten and the other female NAT senators, who were undecided on supporting one of Deetch's bills.
In yet another incident, Deetch went on a car ride to the other side of Mavocke with Senator Luke Gymbal (C-Ansleigha). The two senators and one of Gymbal's staff members stopped at a 7-11. Deetch was heard making derogatory comments about the owners of the convenience store.
"Oh they're all (7-11 stores) owned by god-damned Indians and Pakistanis these days, that's not how it used to be when I was a kid," Deetch said.
A Senate ethics investigation found Deetch in violation of Senate decorum, and ruled his behavior was "reprehensible, ignorant and unbecoming of a senator." He was not formally censured, though, or penalized.
Senate Minority Leader Jon Ralston (C-Ans.) said Deetch's "heart-felt apology" was punishment enough.
"Pete said some bad things. We confronted him about it. We told him it's not acceptable from any member of our caucus, he apologized to us, he apologized to those involved, and he promised it wouldn't happen again. The issue is closed as far as I'm concerned," Ralston said, when asked by reporters what internal party consequences Deetch faced.
Senators from both parties condemned Deetch's comments at the time. Debbie Madronas (N-DMG), the top Nationalist in the Senate, said they were "disgusting and embarrassing for the Senate."
Fellow North Ceona Senator Anthony Campanelli (N) said Deetch's words "are despicable, ignorant and elitist," while Elizabeth Graham, also a Nationalist from North Ceona, said she was "deeply disappointed" in Deetch's behavior.
Ken Estall, a fellow Conservative from North Ceona, said Deetch's words "reflect very poorly on North Ceona, and are in stark contrast to the values of acceptance, diversity and tolerance that North Ceonans champion."
But defenders of Deetch, including Nationalist Senator Vic Chambers (S. Ceona), who at 73, is closer in age to Deetch than many of the Senate's younger members, pointed out that Deetch apologized personally to those he insulted.
"I'm not saying what he said was okay, but he met privately with Adani Krishna and apologized. He met with our lady colleagues here in the Senate and apologized to them. And he even drove back to that 7-11 and apologized in person, in public, right in the middle of the store in front of customers and employees, and he apologized to the owners and the employees he offended," said Chambers.
"I think he made a clear effort to make things right and to fix his behavior. People make mistakes, we all say stupid and ignorant things from time to time. Doesn't make it okay, but the important thing is to learn from your mistakes and most importantly to make it right, and Pete did that, so I think we need to give him some credit for that," said Chambers.
During the 2018 campaign, Alexis Stotter and the state's NAT Party hammered Deetch, calling him "xenophobic" and "an old-fashioned racist and misogynist."
"How embarrassing is it for our state, that the dean of our state's Senate delegation, the most prominent person representing our state, a man who is a grandfather and who has many beautiful women and little granddaughters in his family, and who has many colleagues who are wonderful people of color...how embarrassing is it that this is what people see on the news about our state. He's making North Ceona look like a backwards, racist garbage dump. Our state is not that. We are better than that. Pete Deetch should be better than that. We can do better, we must do better," said Stotter during a televised debate.
Deetch apologized to voters during the televised debate, and asked for forgiveness.
"You know, back in my day, people said a lot of things, they used a lot of terms and phrases that now we consider offensive. And they are offensive. I should never have said those things. I said some really stupid things. Sometimes I put my foot in my mouth. Sometimes I speak before I think. Sometimes I let old school thoughts and words come out of my mouth. And I'm very sorry about that. It's not okay. There's no excuse for what I did. It was wrong and I am very sorry to all the people I offended with my words. All I can do is ask for forgiveness and promise to do better, and I have done that many, many times, and I will continue to pledge to improve and be a better person," said Deetch.
His many apologies weren't enough to save him from electoral defeat in the 2018 elections.
But now, the veteran Conservative politician is hoping to make a comeback.
Sources close to Deetch say he has quietly been reaching out to high-ranking Conservatives in the state's CNS Party.
The sources, who asked to remain anonymous because they were not permitted to speak to the media, told GNN that Deetch would prefer to be back in the Senate.
"He loves it there. He loves debating, he loves fighting for North Ceona and opposing the national government. But he also loves the camaraderie and the bipartisan friendships that he made," said one source. "Pete is very conservative. But some of his best friends are Nationalists who are quite liberal. He is set in his ways, he is very opinionated. He'll never convert to the other side. But he has a good heart, despite his rough exterior. And I think people of both parties see that in Mavocke, and he's hoping the people of North Ceona will give him another chance and will look past his flaws and vote him back into the Senate."
The Senate may be his first choice, but Deetch is also considering a run for governor, the sources said.
Current Governor Tom Cozier (C) will step down in 2020 due to term limits, creating an open governors seat.
However, recent poll by the Opinion Research on a hypothetical match up in the 2020 governor's race found Deetch trailing Elizabeth Graham 44% - 54%, and Deetch trailing former state attorney general John Ennis 44% - 53%, respectively.
Opinion Research is currently conducting polling on potential 2020 Senate races, with results expected in the next few weeks.
A spokesman for the former senator declined to comment on Deetch's future plans.
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