Rachel Crooks, who accused Trump of sexual misconduct, seals Ohio legislature nomination
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A woman who came forward with an accusation during the 2016 campaign that President Trump forcibily kissed her in 2006 is a step closer in her bid for a seat in Ohio's House of Representatives.
Democrat Rachel Crooks, of Tiffin, Ohio, won an uncontested primary Tuesday. The 35-year-old university administrator will face Republican state Rep. Bill Reineke in November.
She says she’s running for the seat southeast of Toledo in part because Trump has escaped consequences for the harassment alleged by her and many other women.
Crooks says she was 22 and working as a receptionist at Trump Tower in 2006 when Trump kissed her without her consent after she introduced herself outside one of the elevators.
More:Meet 19 women who claim affairs with Trump or accuse him of unwanted advances
"He started kissing me on one cheek, then the other cheek. He was talking to me in between kisses, asking where I was from, or if I wanted to be a model," Crooks said in a Feb. 19 article in The Washington Post. "He wouldn’t let go of my hand, and then he went right in and started kissing me on the lips."
In response to that Post article, Trump tweeted, "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?" he asked.
Crooks responded with a tweet of her own, telling Trump to "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," Crooks tweeted via her campaign's account."It’s liars like you in politics that have prompted me to run for office myself."
More:Trump lashes out at accusers, denying alleged Trump Tower sexual harassment incident
Contributing: The Associated Press