In contrast to the genial tone his campaign had taken during the primaries, Fine's general election campaign took a staunchly combative turn. Special attention were drawn to Fine's comments after Ellison had won the primary, when he stated "I’m extremely concerned about Keith Ellison, Keith Hakim, Keith X Ellison, Keith Ellison Muhammad", referring to various pseudonyms Ellison had used when he was in college. These remarks were seen by some as racist, one of Fine's brothers, Robert Fine, wrote a letter to Ellison denouncing his brother's comments. Fine's campaign was also wracked by allegations that he had abused his former wife in 1995, first revealed in a story by "Star Tribune" reporter Rochelle Olson. Fine strongly denied the allegations, claiming that Olson had ties to Ellison, and accused the "Star Tribune" of trying to "rig the election".