Rep. Tom Reed, a New York Republican, who is ready to begin a campaign challenging Gov. Andrew Cuomo next year, now faces an accusation from a female lobbyist claiming he touched her inappropriately four years ago at a bar in Minneapolis.
Nicolette Davis first told the Washington Post that, as a 25-year-old junior lobbyist for an insurance company, she and other lobbyists met at an Irish pub in Minneapolis following a day of ice fishing. She alleged a drunk Reed sat next to her, put his hand up her blouse, and began unhooking her bra strap.
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“A drunk congressman is rubbing my back,” she texted her friend and co-worker Jessica Strieter Elting at Aflac that night in 2017. She texted again, “HELP HELP.”
The Washington Post reports Davis’s claims from 2017 were backed up by another individual at the gathering that evening. The person, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, says that the New York congressman was obviously drunk and placed his hand on Davis’s back prior to leaving the restaurant. Following the weekend trip, Davis says she promptly described more details of the incident to Elting.
In a statement to the Washington Examiner, Reed said of Davis’s allegations, “This account of my actions is not accurate.”
Davis sent her story about Reed to the Washington Post tip line on Feb. 11 — one week before Reed said on Fox News that he is “seriously considering” running for governor in 2022. Reed is among several outspoken New York Republicans considering running against Cuomo, who faces an investigation over multiple sexual harassment accusations himself.
The New York Republican replaced Democrat Eric Massa in 2010. Massa was forced to resign after a staffer accused him of sexual harassment. Prior to his election to Congress, Reed wrote a piece in the Huffington Post related to the international “No More” campaign, which discussed issues pertaining to sexual assault and domestic violence.
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In 2017, Reed supported a House resolution mandating lawmakers to go through training to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. “Sexual harassment training is a basic requirement in my office,” he said in a statement at the time. “All members of my staff, including myself, have taken the training.”
