By Zack Stovall
Arkansas News Bureau

LITTLE ROCK — Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Curtis Coleman said today his comment that traveling to Southeast Arkansas one “might as well get a visa and shot” was not meant to be derogatory, but rather as a metaphor for the diversity of Arkansas.

The Little Rock businessman who has formed an committee to explore a run for Democratic incumbent Blanche Lincoln’s seat next year made the comments Tuesday night to a Benton County Republican group in the prosperous northwest corner of the state.  Southeast Arkansas is largely agricultural and economically depressed.

The Democratic Party of Arkansas condemned Coleman’s remark today and called for an apology, contended in a statement that it shows Coleman is incapable of representing the entire state.

“Inferring that one part of our state is a disease-ridden foreign country is not only incorrect, but also insulting,” said the statement, distributed by Democratic Party executive director Mariah Hatta.

But Coleman said he was trying to “accentuate or maybe even celebrate the enormous diversity we have in Arkansas.”

“I’ve done a lot of international traveling since the 70’s, and when going to a new and different land, you had to have a visa and shots. I only meant it to show the tremendous differences you see from one corner of the state to the other. I love Southeast Arkansas and meant it only as a metaphor,” he said.

Coleman has formed an exploratory committee to test the waters for a possible GOP candidacy to unseat Lincoln, who is seeking a third term, but he has yet to make a final decision as whether to run.

Coleman laughed off any thoughts that such a comment could derail his potential campaign and said the Democratic Party’s response showed weakness in the party.

“That’s an awfully big reach to say that from those remarks. If you’ve got to reach that hard, you’re worried,” he said.

Another GOP Senate hopeful,  state Sen. Kim Hendren of Gravette, drew criticism earlier for referring to New York Sen. Charles Schumer as “that Jew” in a Republican gathering.

Aside from Hendren and Coleman, Arkansas Tea Party President and Little Rock businessman Tom Cox and Searcy businessman have each announced intentions to seek the GOP nomination. State Sen. Gilbert Baker, R-Conway, has said he remains interested in a possible race, yet undecided.