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Roughly six years ago, as the #MeToo movement gathered steam, a credible allegation of sexual misconduct could end a political career.
Al Franken, a U.S. senator of Minnesota, was forced to resign. A Democratic colleague in the House, John Conyers of Michigan, was forced out days earlier. Three Republican congressmen also stepped down: Blake Farenthold of Texas, Trent Franks of Arizona, and Pat Meehan of Pennsylvania.
The potency of a #MeToo allegation remained as recently as 2021, when Andrew Cuomo resigned as governor of New York after he faced multiple accusations of sexual harassment.
But in New York, recent developments suggest that there may be a subtle re-evaluation of those accused of sexual harassment or abuse, and whether their political lives might be resuscitated.
And then there is the former president, Donald J. Trump, a New Yorker whose long history of sexual misconduct allegations — including a Manhattan jury’s finding last year that he was liable for sexually abusing the writer E. Jean Carroll — has been accepted or forgiven by most Republican voters.
But for Democrats, who have typically been less tolerant of politicians accused of sexual misdeeds, the calculus is more complicated. Some Democrats have publicly second-guessed how the party handled Mr. Franken; talk show hosts like Bill Maher have questioned whether #MeToo has gone too far.
“We’re still seeing the results of the #MeToo movement, but there is a backlash,” Carolyn Maloney, the former congresswoman of New York, acknowledged.
Ms. Maloney is now working on a campaign to recognize the Equal Rights Amendment in the Constitution, guaranteeing equal rights for women and men. “It’s still important six years later to listen to women,” she said. “And I tend to believe women.”
Some voters agree with her. Others are weighing each case separately, depending on the circumstances and the severity of the allegations.
Democrats are roughly three times as likely as Republicans to support the #MeToo movement, according to a Pew Research survey in 2022, and there are differences among voters across race and age.
Younger voters, including millennials and Gen Z, are less willing to tolerate sexual misconduct, said Christina Greer, a political science professor who is currently a fellow at the City College of New York. The allegations against Mr. Stringer were less serious than those against Mr. Cuomo, she said, but they still had major political implications.
“I don’t think people necessarily thought the allegations were egregious — it was the swiftness of female elected officials who abandoned his campaign,” she said. “The real question is will he be able to gain those individuals back.”
At the height of the 2021 mayoral campaign, Mr. Stringer was accused by a former colleague of groping her and pressuring her to have sex two decades earlier when she was an unpaid intern on his unsuccessful campaign for public advocate. He later filed a defamation lawsuit against the woman, Jean Kim, that was dismissed because too much time had passed. Another woman, Teresa Logan, later accused him of sexually harassing her when she worked for him nearly three decades earlier.
Ruth Messinger, a former Manhattan borough president who was the Democratic nominee for mayor in 1997, said that she thought the allegations against Mr. Stringer were exaggerated and she would consider supporting him for mayor again. But she encouraged voters to give thoughtful consideration to each allegation against an elected official.
“Since we entered the #MeToo era, there are often going to be allegations, and the question for the voter is: What is the story here?” she said. “What kind of investigation has gone on? If it’s clear there was ongoing harassment or assault, that’s not someone you want in office.”
Mr. Adams, for his part, was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 1993 in a claim filed under New York’s Adult Survivors Act, which provided a window for people to bring lawsuits over sexual assaults that allegedly occurred years ago. The filing provided few details, but more information about the woman’s allegation could become public as the case moves through the court system.
Mr. Adams has denied any wrongdoing and said he does not recall ever meeting the woman who filed the suit.
The Pew Research survey found that women younger than 30 were the most inclined among any age group to support #MeToo; exit polls suggest that more than 55 percent of voters in a Democratic primary in New York City are women.
White Democrats were more likely than Black and Hispanic Democrats to support the movement. Black voters are often more skeptical of allegations because there is a long history of Black men being falsely accused of sexual misconduct, said Ms. Greer, the political science professor.
“Black voters and voters of color tend to be a little slower to jump on the ‘believe all women’ bandwagon and a little more nuanced in their assessment of accusations,” she said.
Black voters have been a key bloc for President Biden, who fended off allegations from a former employee who accused him of sexually assaulting her in 1993.
In New York, both Mr. Adams, the city’s second Black mayor, and Mr. Cuomo, who is white, have also enjoyed broad support among Black voters. Despite the mayor’s increasing unpopularity, he has maintained support from Black voters — 48 percent of Black voters approved of him in a recent poll compared with 28 percent of white voters. A majority of voters in the poll said they had not heard much about the assault allegation against Mr. Adams. About 35 percent thought Mr. Adams was being truthful in denying it, and 32 percent thought he was not being truthful.
Mr. Cuomo resigned after a state investigation found that he had sexually harassed at least 11 women, including groping a former aide. Mr. Cuomo has denied wrongdoing and assailed a “cancel culture on steroids” that included President Biden calling on him to resign.
In recent months, Mr. Cuomo has tested the waters for a potential return to public life, telling people that he would consider running for mayor if Mr. Adams did not seek re-election. And at speaking engagements at Black churches and during an appearance on Mr. Maher’s HBO show, the former governor took issue with the left-leaning faction of the Democratic Party.
“The moderate Democrats are afraid of that far left,” Mr. Cuomo said. “So when you say ‘sexual harassment,’ they right away are ready to jump, right? And that can be manipulated, by the way. This cancel culture, it’s a loaded gun, and they can use it against anyone, any time, even for their self interest.”
Richard Azzopardi, a spokesman for the former governor, defended Mr. Cuomo in a statement, though he did not comment on whether he might run for mayor.
“As time goes by, New York City residents see that report for the political sham it was, and the clear takeaway from recent polls is that they support Governor Cuomo and appreciate his real record of accomplishments,” he said.
Likewise, Mr. Stringer said in an interview that he wanted to focus on his plans for the city and that he has forcefully denied any wrongdoing.
“New Yorkers are going to focus on the issues that impact them, and the New Yorkers I talk to are clear that they believe it was a political hit job,” he said.
Patricia Pastor, a lawyer for Ms. Kim, said that her client had no ulterior motive for sharing what happened to her.
“There’s no evidence that there is any legitimacy to his claim that it was a political hit job,” she said. “Frankly, I think it’s misogynistic to make that allegation. It’s been years since she made her disclosure, and where is his evidence that this was anything other than one of two women accusing him of abuse?”
Some prominent left-leaning Democrats agree.
Jessica Ramos, a state senator from Queens who is considering running for mayor, had backed Mr. Stringer early in the 2021 race and quickly rescinded her endorsement. Ms. Ramos said this week that New Yorkers “deserve a new direction.”
“I wish these men understood that there are many ways to be in public service, and sometimes it is best to lead by making room for new voices,” she said in reference to Mr. Stringer and Mr. Cuomo.
Erica Vladimer, a co-founder of a group that combats sexual harassment in Albany, said that Mr. Stringer had hurt his campaign through his actions. Instead of attacking his accuser, she said, he could have said he did not remember her version of events and apologized.
“There should always be opportunities for reconciliation, and there was an opportunity for Scott and he missed it,” she said. “In my mind, he doesn’t deserve to represent people in public office.”
Still, Mr. Stringer and Mr. Cuomo did well in a recent poll asking New Yorkers who they might support in a special election if Mr. Adams, whose campaign fund-raising is under federal investigation, was to resign. Mr. Stringer was tied in fourth place among Democrats at 7 percent, and Mr. Cuomo was in first place at 22 percent.
Ms. Maloney, the former congresswoman, declined to comment on Mr. Stringer’s bid for mayor, but in 2022, she criticized her primary opponent, Representative Jerry Nadler, for campaigning with Mr. Stringer after the allegations came out and refusing to withdraw his endorsement.
“Men run for office because they want to be somebody,” she said. “Women run because they want to do something. I tend to believe women, and I think we should start listening more to women.”
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