Gubernatorial candidate Joe Kenney (R-Wakefield) says that a joke made by Gov. John Lynch (D-Hopkinton) about Sarah Palin was "inappropriate."

Speaking at the Jefferson Jackson Dinner, Lynch poked fun at one of the Alaska governor's catch phrases, saying, "I need to tell you something about Susan, something that you should all know about Susan. Susan is a hockey mom. Yup you bet ya."

The dinner is an annual fundraiser for the New Hampshire Democratic Party.

"For a sitting Governor to be doing an imitation of fellow Governor Sara Palin and taking pot shots at her for her accent to score political points is inappropriate," Kenney, a state senator, said in a press release. "I doubt if the fellow sitting Governor were a man we would have heard jokes about him being a hockey dad."

Kenney also said that working women should not be made fun of and cited his own campaign manager as an example of women who balance work and family.

"Women deserve support and an opportunity to show their stuff not to be made fun of during some political dinner just so the Governor could get a laugh; my own campaign manager has a 10 month old boy. Lynch is the Governor of this state and it was totally inappropriate for him to try to get laughs at her expense," Kenney added.