A Tasmanian senate candidate has been handed a party directive to shift his campaign focus after copping widespread criticism for an anti-gay marriage comment after the Orlando shooting massacre.
Family First representative Peter Madden, 55, said he became the target of thousands of vitriolic online messages after responding to a tweet on Monday night.
He says the fallout is taking a toll on his pregnant wife who is due to give birth in coming weeks.
Mr Madden's campaign platform has included a strong stance against gay marriage and he was responding to criticism of his poster when uploading the comment - "Though Orlando is abhorrent, it doesn't change the real (and) present dangers of the gay marriage agenda to Aus children".
"I didn't want to offend anybody and I did not link, and absolutely deny linking gay marriage to the Orlando shooting," he told AAP on Tuesday, renewing an apology that came almost immediately after his comment.
The aspiring politician, based at Longley just outside Hobart, said that as a result of the controversy he will remove references to gay marriage from his campaign material.
"I'm not backing down as much as I want to broaden the scope of my policies," he said.
"I've got a directive that our campaign at Family First is not just about gay marriage, it's about so much more including family business and taxation changes to support that."
Mr Madden's campaign material had included references to "mardi gras Malcolm (Turnbull)" wanting gay marriage legalised.
His website has since gone offline.
"There hasn't been any violence or vandalism to my family home and nobody has come knocking, it's just the vitriol online - thousands of hate tweets," Mr Madden said.
"My wife, who is due to give birth in eight weeks, doesn't take this extraordinary hate mail as well as me."
Mr Madden said he "totally condemns" the sort of violence carried out at Orlando's Pulse nightclub - a known gay bar - where a gunman killed 49 people and wounded 53 others over the weekend.
He has offered to attend a vigil in Hobart later this week to pay respect to those killed in the shooting, but fears his attendance might be inappropriate.
"People may see that as insensitive ... if I'm not welcome I will not go," Mr Madden said, adding that he planned to contact organisers.
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