Kimberley Strope-Boggus, the former campaign manager for Iowa’s Democrat U.S. Senate nominee Mike Franken, received backlash for accusing the candidate of making “several” unwanted advances toward her and other women.
In a recent Politico story about “D-list” candidate Franken and his quest to unseat longtime Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, Strope-Boggus spoke out about the recent backlash from her recently discovered April police report.
Strope-Boggus said in a statement to Politico’s Lyz Lens:
“Anyone who knows me, knows that I am honest to a fault. Michael Franken kissed me without my consent. It happened. And now, again, without my consent, I am being mentioned by both sides as though I am a disposable pawn in the political machine. I hope we can all take a step back and look at how we treat women who come forward and how we react to their stories. What happened to me and what is happening now is not my fault. It’s his. That has always been, and will remain, the truth.”
In an April police report, Strope-Boggus said the Democrat Senate nominee “grabbed the collar of the vest she was wearing and kissed her on her mouth” before she could “pull away” when they met for drinks at a bar in Des Moines on March 18. Strope-Boggus also described Franken as “old school,” and has “1950s interactions with women,” thinking it is “part of his charm.”
Since the police report was first discovered, Franken — who is 64 years old, married, and has two kids — has denied the allegations on multiple occasions. However, while Franken continued to call the allegations false, his former campaign manager was reportedly under a non-disclosure agreement and was not given a chance to speak out.
The Politico story also related that a woman with knowledge of Strope-Boggus and Franken’s incident and who was granted anonymity by the publication said that Franken “frequently crossed boundaries with women,” kissing them on the cheek and hugging them.
Additionally, another person who had experience working with Iowa’s Democrat Senate nominee, who was also granted anonymity by the publication, confirmed Franken’s behavior and said, “It’s really uncomfortable.”
In response to this, Michaela Sundermann, Grassley’s campaign communications director, said, “The pattern that’s emerging raises very serious questions for Iowans and the public trust.”
“It’s unclear what Mike Franken could say to offset what his accusers are saying, but it’s a situation that calls for transparency and accountability,” Sundermann added. “Sexual harassment and assault are never acceptable. Candidates seeking office must answer to the public.”
Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.