Is Gillibrand’s highest-profile challenger imploding?

From the day Kirsten Gillibrand was elevated to the US Senate, Rep. Carolyn Maloney has threatened a primary challenge in 2010.

This should have been a great news cycle for Maloney, with former President Bill Clinton hosting a fundraiser on her behalf.

But then it was reported that she used a racial epithet, during an interview, while gossiping about Gillibrand. Here’s her full quote from the New York Daily News:

“I got a call from someone from Puerto Rico, said [Gillibrand] went to Puerto Rico and came out for English-only [education].

And he said, ‘It was like saying [full N-word] to a Puerto Rican.’

I don’t know, I don’t know if that’s true or not.”

Maloney was out with a quick apology. Here it is:

“I apologize for having repeated a word I find disgusting. It’s no excuse, but I was so caught up in relaying the story exactly as it was told to me that, in doing so, I repeated a word that should never be repeated.”

Maloney had very little margin for error in this race. This misstep erased a big chunk of it.

As bad as her use of the “n-word” — as she tries to rally support from Democrats — was her echoing at second hand gossip about a powerful Senator from her own party.