Just days before the general election, a second former campaign staff member has accused Congressional candidate Carl DeMaio of sexual harassment, KPBS reported Sunday.
The public radio and TV station said Justin Harper, a regional political director, resigned after an incident in July involving DeMaio in a restroom at his campaign headquarters in the Miramar area.
The DeMario campaign labeled the accusation “an outrageous lie” and said Harper’s girlfriend is a suspect in a break-in of DeMaio’s office in May.
Earlier this month the San Diego District Attorney’s office said there is insufficient evidence to file charges in connection with the break-in or the first harassment allegation by former staffer Todd Bosnich.
“By resurrecting this outrageous lie in the last 48 hours of the campaign, Scott Peters has sunk to a new low,” said Dave McCulloch, a spokesperson for the DeMaio campaign.
He accused Peters’ campaign manager of “coordinating with these individuals to advance this disgusting false smear that the district attorney dismissed weeks ago.”
DeMaio, a Republican, faces incumbent Peters, a Democrat, in the race to represent the 52nd District in the House of Representatives.
