COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- A state lawmaker again apologized Tuesday but refused to resign for calling the Republican gubernatorial front-runner a "raghead," adding he's been called names, too, and he'll proudly accept the redneck label.

Sen. Jake Knotts said the Republican Party should embrace the redneck term and its origin.

"I am proud to be stereotyped as a redneck. The true meaning is a hardworking farmer who works from dawn to dusk to support his family and got a red neck from working in the sun," said Sen. Jake Knotts, R-West Columbia, rattling off a list of rednecks' positive traits. "If all of us rednecks leave the Republican Party, the party is going to have one hell of a void."

His comments on the Senate floor came after GOP leaders in his home county publicly reprimanded him. Last Thursday, the executive committee of the Lexington County Republican Party voted to censure him and ask him to resign for his comment made about state Rep. Nikki Haley during an Internet political talk show.

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