Jason Reid, deputy chair of the Northern Ireland Conservatives, acknowledged it was a “bit of a gaffe”.
He said people at the conference have shown an interest in Northern Ireland.
“I think Kemi would admit herself that was a mistake, a bit of a gaffe of course,” he said.
“With the amount of stuff she’s having to get in her head to speak about here, I think that is something we can possibly overlook.”
The Conservatives have no elected representatives in Northern Ireland, with the party receiving less than 1% of the vote in recent elections.
Other main parties in Great Britain including Labour do not stand candidates in elections in Northern Ireland.