A Kansas woman who was running for U.S. Congress has ended her campaign amid allegations that she sexually harassed and fired a male employee several years ago when she worked as a human resources executive.
Andrea Ramsey says the accusations are false and being used against her for political reasons, and that she was forced to end her campaign because of the Democratic Party‘s zero tolerance policy on sexual harassment.
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According to the Kansas City Star, Ramsey was accused in 2005 of firing the man as retaliation after he spurned her sexual advances.
The man eventually reached a settlement with LabOne, the company where Ramsey worked at as executive vice president of human resources. The lawsuit was made against the company and not Ramsey herself, and was settled in 2006.
On Friday, Ramsey said the man’s claim that he was fired because he refused to have sex with her was a lie.
“When I was the head of human resources at a local company, I had to make difficult business decisions on a daily basis… a termination decision is always the most wrenching, because it affects not only a person’s livelihood, but also an individual’s dignity and sense of self,” Ramsey wrote in a Facebook post.
“Sometimes employees don’t take the decision well, and do things they wouldn’t otherwise do because they are angry in that moment, seeking to retaliate.”
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Ramsey added that she was unable to stop the settlement of the case because the lawsuit was brought against the company, and not her.
“Because I wasn’t a named party, I didn’t have an opportunity to participate in its resolution,” she wrote.
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The 56-year-old railed against her political rivals for using the false allegations to protect the Republican-held seat in Kansas’ 3rd Congressional District, but also criticized the Democratic Party for its zero-tolerance policy.
“In its rush to claim the high ground in our roiling national conversation about harassment, the Democratic Party has implemented a zero tolerance standard,” Ramsey said.
“For me, that means a vindictive, terminated employee’s false allegations are enough for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) to decide not to support our promising campaign.”
The DCCC defended its position.
“If anyone is guilty of sexual harassment or sexual assault, that person should not hold public office,” committee spokeswoman Meredith Kelly told the Kansas City Star.
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Ramsey was running for Congress under the endorsement of Emily’s List, an organization that supports female and pro-abortion-rights candidates.
On Friday, the webpage previously dedicated to Emily’s List endorsement of Ramsey was taken down.
Rep. Kevin Yoder, the Republican incumbent in Kansas’ 3rd Congressional District, hasn’t commented publicly on the case.