A Republican candidate in Nebraska’s gubernatorial race who won an endorsement from Donald Trump has been accused of groping at least eight women at political events and beauty pageants. Republican State Sen. Julie Slama is among the women to come forward about Charles Herbster—currently the frontrunner in the state’s primary race—allegedly touching her inappropriately, according to the Nebraska Examiner. She told the newspaper Herbster reached up her skirt and grabbed her at an event in 2019 for the Douglas County Republican Party. Six other women alleged that Herbster had also touched them inappropriately, often doing so as they posed for photographs or greeted him. Another woman accused him of cornering her before forcing a kiss on her. All of the women, except for Slama, spoke on the condition of anonymity, saying they feared retaliation. “I’m scared for any young women that he would be dealing with in the future. Don’t send your daughters to work for this guy,” one of the women was quoted as telling the Examiner. Herbster, through his campaign manager Ellen Keast, “unequivocally” denied the allegations and described them as a “political hit-piece built on 100% false and baseless claims.”
