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Texas Official Says Worker Fired For Offensive Clinton Tweet

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AUSTIN (AP) — Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller says he fired a campaign worker who posted an obscene reference to Hillary Clinton on Miller's official Twitter account.

The Austin American-Statesman reportedly obtained a letter Miller sent to Department of Agriculture employees apologizing for the furor the tweet caused.

Miller campaign spokesman Todd Smith says the fired employee worked for a "third-party vendor" hired to do social media.

Rather than use Clinton's name, the tweet used a sexually explicit, derogatory term for women. Posted a week before Election Day, it was quickly deleted.

Miller's campaign initially said his account was hacked, but later said it mistakenly retweeted a tweet that "contained a derogatory term."

Miller has caused social media stirs before. Last year, he appeared to endorse a nuclear bombing of "the Muslim world."

(© Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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