Both Politics Prof. Larry J. Sabato and a former University football player are alleging that during his time as a student at the University, U.S. Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) used a racial epithet. Allen denies the allegations.
The recent allegations follow an incident this summer when Allen referred to a University student of Indian descent using the term "macaca."
Ken Shelton, a former football teammate of Allen's at the University, along with Sabato, have said Allen repeatedly used the "n word" and had a strong affinity for Confederate symbolism.
Speaking on MSNBC's "Hardball with Chris Matthews," Sabato said it is "absolutely correct" that Allen used the "n word" while he was a student at the University. Sabato has not clarified how he knows Allen used the word, but the two were students at the University at the same time.
"He did use it," Sabato said in the interview. "It was the 70s, it was a harsh term and it was an obscenity as far as I'm concerned."
Sabato also said Allen had a "strange love affair" with Confederate memorabilia, despite his background.
"He had a long love affair with the Confederate flag and any other symbols of the Confederacy, which, frankly, was a bit odd for someone who grew up in an upper middle class family with every possible privilege in Southern California," he said.
Shelton said Allen had a long history of insensitive actions during his time at the University.
"One thing that always disgusted me about George was that he chewed tobacco in college and often carried no cup to spit into and he would walk down the halls at Newcomb Hall," Shelton said. "He would spit tobacco juice on the floors and on the wall with total disrespect, in my opinion, for the University, the students and the janitors, and at that time most of them were black."
Shelton also said he witnessed Allen placing the severed head of a deer on the mailbox of a black family.
Allen has already ran in three high-profile campaigns, including a successful bid for a vacated U.S. House of Representatives seat in 1991, his 1994 gubernatorial election and the race in 2000 for the U.S. Senate seat he is currently defending. Shelton said he waited so long to tell these stories because he "hoped [Allen] would disappear from the political scene."
"I regret not coming forward earlier," Shelton said. "The 'macaca' incident brought it out, and I saw the same George I saw 30 years ago. My conscience told me I had to do it. I had to get it off my chest."
Allen has dismissed claims that he used the "n-word" and other racial slurs as being "ludicrously false," according to his statements to The Associated Press. His campaign issued statements from some of his former University football teammates which defended Allen.
"I never heard George Allen use any racially disparaging word, nor did I ever witness or hear about him acting in a racially insensitive manner," Doug Jones, Allen's football teammate from 1971-1974, said in the campaign release. "He was a scholar-athlete and a leader. I was proud to be his teammate."
Despite leveling these accusations against Allen on MSNBC, Sabato told Matthews he believes that the election will hinge on more than just this one issue.
"Eventually this campaign will get back to other issues," Sabato said. "These are somewhat important issues, but they shouldn't define an election that ought to be about central issues like Iraq [and] like the economy."
However, Politics Prof. Paul Freedman said he believes that Allen's campaign has suffered significantly from these allegations.
"Every statement that Allen has had to issue in the past two months that is apologizing or clarifying or denying is an opportunity lost that could have been spent making a positive case for candidacy," Freedman said. "So to spend yet another week on the defensive does absolutely nothing to help his candidacy."
A representative of Allen's campaign declined to comment beyond existing statements. Sabato was unavailable to comment.
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