Don’t know, nor do I know if Sharron Angle ever apologized to Dean Heller, Herman Cain to Johnny Isakson, Ed Bryant to Bob Corker, either. Saying that one’s largely conservative primary opponent is a closet liberal based on a few past statements or votes is a tradition in conservative politics, and when it is proven to have been hyperbole it is rare for the candidate levying the charge to say that he or she regrets having said those things. And many times the attacks are successful so the accused candidate doesn’t get the chance to belie them (such as in the case of Sue Lowden, Jane Norton and other conservatives defeated in primaries because they were falsely accused of being liberals), so no one even poses the question to the accuser.
“Sharron Angle” is the vibe I get from Vern. I hope I’m wrong.