Carey quiet on Trump adviser accused of sexual harassment
The GOP candidate for Ohio's 15th Congressional District is mum on his ties to a longtime adviser to Donald Trump after the adviser was accused last week of sexually harassing a prominent Trump donor.
Trashelle Odom said former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski repeatedly touched her and made inappropriate comments at a recent charity event in Las Vegas, Politico reported last week. The allegations prompted Trump allies to remove Lewandowski from the former president's super PAC and create another fundraising group to keep him out of the fold.
Lewandowski is a friend of congressional candidate Mike Carey and played a key role in securing Trump's endorsement of him earlier this year. Carey will face state Rep. Allison Russo in the Nov. 2 special election to replace former U.S. Rep. Steve Stivers.
A spokesman for Carey did not respond to multiple requests for comment about the allegations and Lewandowski's current role in the campaign. Lewandowski did not respond to questions about his involvement in Carey's campaign.
An attorney for Lewandowski cast Odom's allegations as “accusations and rumors,” according to Politico.
Lewandowski visited Ohio in June to stump for Carey ahead of the August primary, just days before Trump announced his endorsement. During a telephone town hall in July, Lewandowski said he's known Carey for 25 years and noted that he joined Carey and Trump for their meeting in Trump Tower.
“Mike and I have gone back a long ways together, and I can tell you that when Mike decided he was going to run for Congress, I knew right away that he was the type of person that fit perfectly with the America First agenda,” Lewandowski said.
The Trump-affiliated super PAC led by Lewandowski spent over $400,000 to back Carey in the primary, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
While Carey's position is unknown, other Republican politicians have started to distance themselves from Lewandowski. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and Nebraska gubernatorial candidate Charles Herbster had been working with him and cut ties after Odom's story surfaced, Politico reported. Noem separately disputed a report from a conservative website that she and Lewandowski had an affair.
Haley Bemiller is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.