Rachel Crooks, one of dozens of women who have accused President Trump of sexual harassment, just took a step toward being able to fight him and his policies.
On Tuesday, Crooks won her primary bid for a seat in the Ohio state legislature. Crooks was running unopposed and will now face Republican State Rep. Bill Reineke in November. While the district Crooks hopes to represent leans red, if Crooks wins, she will become the first Trump accuser to hold elected office.
Crooks decided to run in part because of her run-in with Trump. On her campaign website, she explains that the experience has shaped her, and led her to push for “honesty and integrity” and work to “bring about positive change.”
Crooks alleged that in 2006, when she was 22 and working as a receptionist at Trump Tower, Trump kissed her without her consent. Trump has denied the claims.
In February, Trump took to Twitter, writing, “A woman I don’t know and, to the best of my knowledge, never met, is on the FRONT PAGE of the Fake News Washington Post saying I kissed her (for two minutes yet) in the lobby of Trump Tower 12 years ago. Never happened! Who would do this in a public space with live security……”
A woman I don’t know and, to the best of my knowledge, never met, is on the FRONT PAGE of the Fake News Washington Post saying I kissed her (for two minutes yet) in the lobby of Trump Tower 12 years ago. Never happened! Who would do this in a public space with live security……
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 20, 2018
Crooks replied in kind, writing later that day, “Please, by all means, share the footage from the hallway outside the 24th floor residential elevator bank on the morning of January 11, 2006. Let’s clear this up for everyone. It’s liars like you in politics that have prompted me to run for office myself.”
Please, by all means, share the footage from the hallway outside the 24th floor residential elevator bank on the morning of January 11, 2006. Let’s clear this up for everyone. It’s liars like you in politics that have prompted me to run for office myself. https://t.co/ir7EEKoXRU https://t.co/GmkkZ5jUc7
— Rachel Crooks (@RachelforOhio) February 20, 2018
Crooks has been one of several Trump accusers who has publicly shared her experiences. In December last year, she joined 15 other Trump accusers at a press conference, in which they shared their individual accounts of sexual misconduct by Trump.