Gov. Neil Abercrombie apologized on Monday for casting doubt on a letter from U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye that urged the governor to name U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa as his successor.

Abercrombie told the Los Angels Times in an interview last week that whether the letter "could be construed as Sen. Inouye’s dying wish — let me put it this way — is problematic."

The governor did not dispute that the letter, hand-delivered by retired banker Walter Dods and retired attorney Jeffrey Watanabe in the hour before Inouye died in December 2012, reflected the senator’s preference for Hanabusa. The governor also did not provide any evidence that the letter was not authentic.

But Abercrombie’s comments resurrected speculation, spread by some of the governor’s political allies, that the letter was contrived to pressure the governor to choose Hanabusa. Abercrombie instead appointed Brian Schatz — his lieutenant governor at the time — to replace Inouye.

Schatz and Hanabusa are locked in a close Democratic primary to fill out the remainder of Inouye’s six-year term.

Irene Hirano Inouye, Inouye’s widow, said Monday that Abercrombie’s comments were "hurtful" and "disrespectful."

"I apologize to the late Sen. Inouye, his wife Irene, his family, friends, and former staff for the comments I made concerning the letter," Abercrombie said later Monday in a statement. "I regret that my comments were interpreted as hurtful and disrespectful to them. That was certainly not my intent. Sen. Inouye was, without a doubt, one of the finest leaders in Hawaii’s history, and a mentor to me.

"Selection of Sen. Inouye’s successor was one of the most difficult decisions of my political career. I had three worthy nominees from the Democratic Party to select from. In my discussions with Sen. Inouye, it was clear that he preferred Colleen Hanabusa. In the end, however, he told me, as governor, you have to make the decision you think is best for the people of Hawaii."

Over the weekend, after Abercrombie’s comments were published by the Times, several political observers were surprised by what they saw as a miscalculation by the governor. Early in his term, the governor, who is often impulsive and never afraid to speak his mind, caused several self-inflicted wounds to his administration through rash comments.

But the governor has shown more discipline over the past few years, so observers wonder what he thought he could achieve by antagonizing Inouye’s loyalists.

"The governor’s comments about Dan’s last wishes are hurtful," Hirano Inouye said in an interview. "To question the letter and the authenticity of Dan’s last wishes is disrespectful to Dan, me, and to Dan’s family, friends and his former staff.

"It’s been nearly 16 months since Dan passed, and with the outpouring of support from so many people, we’ve been working very hard to continue Dan’s legacy through many important projects. So I find that the fact that this has been raised again — certainly it’s saddening to me to have to go through this."

Hirano Inouye also shared an exchange she said she had with Abercrombie when she arrived at the state Capitol in December 2012 for a ceremony honoring the senator.

"The governor met me at the car and he gave me every indication that he was going to honor Dan’s wishes," she said.

Hirano Inouye said Abercrombie did not mention Hanabusa’s name, but she thought that was what the governor was indicating.

"What he said is that he would do the right thing, which certainly led me to believe that he was going to honor the request in the letter," she said.

Most of the Hawaii news media has not speculated on the provenance of the Inouye letter. Political reporters had known long before Inouye was hospitalized and died that the senator wanted Hanabusa to succeed him.

But the dramatic image of the powerful Dods and Watanabe delivering the letter to Abercrombie just before Inouye died has fueled speculation. Some Abercrombie allies have questioned the letter’s authenticity and have alleged that the letter was leaked to the news media to pressure the governor to select Hanabusa.

Abercrombie himself, however, was the first to publicly disclose the letter’s existence. The governor, fighting emotion, read from the message at a news conference shortly after Inouye died but did not mention that the senator had recommended Hanabusa.

Disappointed that Abercrombie would publicly discuss the letter but not reveal its main purpose, the Inouye camp shared the contents with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and Hawaii News Now.

Family, friends, aides and others who saw Inouye in the hospital have said that the senator, who was suffering from a respiratory ailment, was communicative in his final days.

Inouye’s "last wish" was an early theme in the primary between Schatz and Hanabusa, but had largely faded as a campaign issue.

Hirano Inouye and others in the Inouye camp are supporting Hanabusa, and Abercrombie’s comments give the Hanabusa campaign another opportunity to remind voters that the late senator trusted Hanabusa with the responsibility of following him in the Senate. Retired U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka has also endorsed Hanabusa.

Schatz issued a statement on Monday.

"I do not question the authenticity of Sen. Inouye’s letter," the senator said.