Iowa Governor Candidate Nate Boulton Accused Of Sex Misconduct

DES MOINES, IA — Three women have come forward with sexual misconduct allegations against Iowa Democratic gubernatorial candidate Nate Boulton.

The Des Moines Register reported Wednesday that one of the women said Boulton, 38, grabbed her buttocks multiple times at a bar three years ago. Two others said he rubbed his crotch against their thighs while he had an erection.

When asked about the allegations, Boulton apologized but told the newspaper he remembered the incidences differently.

“I don’t have the same recollection,” he told the Register. “But I am not going to offer any additional context to this, other than to say if someone’s perspective is that it was inappropriate and I crossed a line and I misread a situation in a social setting, I do apologize.”

He wouldn't comment on or talk about the specific incidents.

“I think if I add context it quickly becomes victim-blaming, and I don’t want to go down that path,” he told the newspaper.

Boulton is currently state senator for the 16th District in the southern part of the state, which is currently composed of neral election.

Boulton said in a statement Wednesday that he would not “disqualify" what his accusers felt at the time or in hindsight. He suggested he has no immediate plans to withdraw his name from the election.

“While this is an embarrassing conversation for me to have today, I think it is important we have it, and I hope young men can learn about gauging conduct in social settings and continue to learn about and engage in the discussion,” the statement said.

The latest accusations follow a wave of sexual harassment and misconduct allegations as part of a nationwide #MeToo movement. TIME magazine even named "The Silence Breakers" and others behind the movement, as its 2017 Person of the Year.

Powerful figures in politics, Hollywood and newsrooms have fallen, including Oscar-winning director Harvey Weinstein, former co-anchor of NBC's "Today" Matt Lauer and former U.S. Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota.

In Iowa, Dave Jamison, former interim director of the state Finance Authority, was fired in March over sexual harassment accusations. He was accused of routinely subjecting female colleagues to sexually inappropriate behavior.

That same month, Republican state Senate Majority Leader Bill Dix of Shell Rock resigned when a video surfaced of him kissing a female lobbyist at a bar.

And the following month, state Senate legislative clerk Jake Dagel was sacked over sexual harassment allegations.

You may have read a story in the Des Moines Register today, and I want you to hear it from me - while my role in this conversation today is embarrassing, it is an important to have it and I will continue to advocate for women's rights. - NB pic.twitter.com/9JJ0eqSuWK
— Nate Boulton (@NateBoulton) May 23, 2018

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Photo credit: Iowa Senate