Democrats investigating sexual harassment allegations against newly elected Rep. Brian Poindexter

Washington — House Democrats are investigating a sexual harassment allegation against Brian Poindexter, who defeated besieged Republican Rep. Max Miller of Ohio in last week’s election.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the campaign arm of House Democrats, said Friday it had hired an independent firm to investigate “any instances of inappropriate behavior, conduct interviews and gather the facts.”

“The DCCC has been informed of these allegations and takes them seriously,” the group’s executive director, Julie Merz, said in a statement.

A spokesperson for Poindexter’s campaign called his actions “a harmless compliment to a volunteer.”

“He later learned that this made her uncomfortable and made him feel very bad,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “When Brian learned of this, we immediately began working to get to the bottom of this with an outside HR firm. Neither Brian nor the campaign want anyone to feel uncomfortable.”

The investigation comes as Congress grapples with how to rethink how it handles allegations of sexual misconduct, with many lawmakers facing complaints.

The DCCC was made aware of the allegations from two political action committees – the Blue Dog PAC and the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC – which said they were made aware of a report of sexual harassment allegations in the final days before the election.

“We notified the DCCC and connected the individual with legal advocacy and support services so she could determine how she wanted to proceed,” the PACs said in a joint statement Friday. “The individual requested that we not release any details about this publicly because she did not want her identity made public and wanted the opportunity to determine how she wanted to proceed while protecting herself.”

The PAC said it withdrew its support for Poindexter “pending completion of the investigation.”