Takeaways from AP's report on sexual misconduct in US statehouses
In an updated report, The Associated Press has cataloged at least 147 state lawmakers in a total of 44 states who have been accused of sexual harassment or sexual misconduct since 2017
The #MeToo movement hit critical mass in 2017, toppling politicians and public figures across the country. Allegations of harassment and misconduct — some from many years prior — emerged. Many state legislatures responded by adopting or enhancing policies against sexual misconduct.
In the years since, women's representation in U.S. statehouses has reached an all-time high.
As more women fill seats and hold leadership positions, lawmakers and others are divided about whether anything has changed. But allegations continue to surface — at the state level and beyond.
The Associated Press tallied allegations against state lawmakers across the country, examined the sexual harassment policies of legislative chambers in all 50 states, and talked to lawmakers, lobbyists and staff.
Here are key takeaways from the investigation:
Since 2017, The Associated Press has cataloged at least 147 state lawmakers across 44 states who have been accused of sexual harassment or misconduct. Most allegations were reported during the first two years of #MeToo, but more have surfaced every year since.
The total includes allegations of incidents both in state government and outside of it.
In 2024 alone, the AP tallied at least 14 state lawmakers from 12 states who were accused — about twice as many as the previous year.
In total, over a third of accused lawmakers resigned or were expelled from office. Roughly another third faced repercussions like losing party or committee positions. A dozen top state executive officials, including governors and attorneys general, faced similar allegations during that time and most resigned.
According to the National Women’s Defense League, which advocates for sexual harassment policies in statehouses and keeps its own count, Republicans and Democrats are nearly equally accused and 94% of those overall are men.
An AP survey, conducted from last November through January, found nearly half of all legislative chambers had updated their sexual harassment policies over the past five years. However, many policies are difficult for the general public to locate.
Near the beginning of #MeToo, an AP survey found about a third of legislative chambers didn’t require lawmakers to take sexual harassment training.
Almost all state legislatures now offer it, though it’s not always mandatory and content, format and frequency vary. Only about one-third of legislative chambers conduct training annually, according to AP’s survey.
The Arkansas Senate is the only legislative chamber without a specific sexual harassment policy. Officials in the Oklahoma Senate, the Mississippi Senate and both chambers of the West Virginia Legislature did not provide their sexual harassment policies to the AP.
Lawmakers and others are divided about whether anything has changed.
Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who filed a sexual harassment complaint against a fellow lawmaker in 2020, said any improvements have less to do with “policy changes or work groups,” and more to do with “just the fact that we have significantly more women in charge.”
Others still see sexism.
“Sometimes it feels like we should just smile more and not be disruptive and not challenge anyone. That hasn’t gone away,” said Georgia state Rep. Shea Roberts, who resigned as Democratic Caucus treasurer to protest a fellow lawmaker who was accused last year of sexually harassing a staffer.
Advocates and lawmakers say the statehouse environment can still be hostile enough to keep many women from running for office.
“When men run for office, it’s about whether they can do the job,” said Erin Maye Quade, a Minnesota senator. “When women run for office, it’s about a lot more than that.”
Men still make up two-thirds of all state lawmakers in the U.S., and some say #MeToo gave them space to join the discussion and to acknowledge more work is needed.
Republican state Rep. Mark Schreiber of Kansas said attitudes have evolved over the years — from a “boys will be boys” ethos to acknowledging the harassment, while still blaming women. In more recent years, he said, men realized, “We’re blaming the wrong people.”
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The Associated Press’ women in the workforce and state government coverage receives financial support from Pivotal Ventures. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
