Brock Adams

In 1992, Democratic Senator Brock Adams ended his campaign for reelection after the Seattle Times printed an article that told the stories of 8 women who accused him of everything fromsexualharrassment to outright rape.

One accuser, Kari Tupper, said Adams had drugged and fondled her after pursuing her for 2 years. Tupper said that she awoke from a drug-induced stupor to find the senator pulling off her clothes in March, 1987. From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:
"I was lying on my side facing the wall, and he was trying to turn me around to face him, trying to kiss me. I mean, I didn't even know who I was in bed with.

"It was very frightening. I started crying right away. Then when I figured out who it was, it was like, how did this happen? Here I was in bed with him, and I wasn't going to do that."

Tupper said she got up and put on her clothes. She said Adams tried to feed her cereal and coffee but she couldn't eat.

'I remember crying all morning," she said. " . . . He was being pushy. I personally think he knew I wasn't in shape to drive, because he was quite pushy about my not leaving then, and it wasn't just to stay in bed with him."
Before the accusations came to light, Adams was popular with liberal women for his pro-choice stance and vocal opposition to Justice Clarence Thomas' nomination to the Supreme Court. Adams vehemently denied the accusations and refused to step down after dropping out of his reelection campaign. He served the brief remainder of his term, then retired to Stevensville, MD, where he resided until his death in 2004.