Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jim Slattery’s campaign on Wednesday suspended a staffer who called Slattery’s opponent a profane name in an e-mail mistakenly sent to supporters.

Ian Staples, Slattery’s deputy communications director, has been suspended indefinitely without pay, said Abbie Hodgson, a campaign spokeswoman.

The e-mail message on Tuesday solicited negative stories about Sen. Pat Roberts, a two-term Republican senator, and it contained a fictitious comment from a Dodge City resident who said: “Pat Roberts : is an a–hole.”

Staples sent out an apology e-mail later Tuesday. He said it was a software malfunction that sent the message but that he should not have written the word as a “placeholder quote” while drafting his thoughts.

“This was an unfortunate incident of unprofessional behavior,” Hodgson said.

Staples, a Kansas University and Free State High School graduate, declined to comment when reached late Wednesday afternoon.