Brian Schweitzer Apologizes For Saying Eric Cantor Sets Off His 'Gaydar'

Former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D) apologized Thursday for telling a reporter that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) strikes him as "effeminate" and sets off his "gaydar."

The former governor, who has hinted that he's weighing a 2016 presidential bid, expressed regrets for his "stupid" remarks on his Facebook page:

While discussing Cantor's recent primary loss in an interview with National Journal's Marin Cogan, Schweitzer made some eyebrow-raising remarks about the Virginia Republican. Cogan reports:

Last week, I called him on the night Majority Leader Eric Cantor was defeated in his GOP primary. "Don't hold this against me, but I'm going to blurt it out. How do I say this ... men in the South, they are a little effeminate," he offered when I mentioned the stunning news. When I asked him what he meant, he added, "They just have effeminate mannerisms. If you were just a regular person, you turned on the TV, and you saw Eric Cantor talking, I would say—and I'm fine with gay people, that's all right—but my gaydar is 60-70 percent. But he's not, I think, so I don't know. Again, I couldn't care less. I'm accepting.")

He also offered an off-color comment about Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), prompting Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.) to call Schweitzer a "sexist scumbag."