Trump Accuser Rachel Crooks Advances in Ohio Race

Rachel Crooks won the uncontested Democratic primary race for Ohio's 88th House district near Toledo; she'll now face off against one-term Republican representative Bill Reineke in November.

Observers are paying close attention to the race as Crooks, 35, is one of 16 women to publicly accuse President Trump of sexual assault.

During the 2016 election, Crooks went public with her story, in which she claimed Trump forcibly kissed her when she was a receptionist working in Trump Tower in January 2006. Crooks says she went to introduce herself to the businessman, holding out her hand to him near an elevator bank; she said she hoped he would view her as a peer or associate.

Instead, Crooks says Trump grabbed her hand, held it, kissed her on both cheeks, and then forcibly kissed her on the mouth as he asked her if she wanted to be a model.

When Trump denied the claim two years ago, Crooks asked for security tape from Trump Tower on that day to be made public (it never was).

Trump's election by the electoral college and the following #MeToo movement contributed to Crooks's decision to run for office. Her district has leaned Republican in the past, but Crooks has raised a record amount of money, reports the Washington Post.