SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A Republican official in Utah resigned Sunday after criticism for dismissing complaints from women who said a party official harassed them.
Salt Lake County GOP Chairman Scott Miller apologized and submitted his resignation in an email to the county party’s executive committee.
More than half a dozen Republican women accuse Salt Lake County Republican Party spokesman Dave Robinson of harassment, body-shaming and other inappropriate behavior.
Robinson has defended his remarks, telling The Salt Lake Tribune he has a background in judging livestock and has a “critical eye.”
Miller, who has been running for state GOP chairman, initially questioned the motives of the accusers, The Salt Lake Tribune reports.
On Friday, he emailed a scathing rebuke to other party officials naming the women coming forward and questioning the motivation behind what he described as “salacious accusations.”
“Are these persons and possibly their special interest backers attempting to embarrass and cancel me and our volunteers?” Miller wrote. “Are most of the accusers sore losers who failed to win their respective races? Is this an attempt to disrupt my efforts to become the Utah GOP Chairman?”
Miller’s email prompted Salt Lake County Republican representatives to issue a statement calling for his resignation.
“The allegations from multiple women should have been taken seriously and handled swiftly,” reads the statement. “The County Party Chair did the opposite. In addition, he maligned each of these women in an email to Republicans throughout the state and county. Such behavior by the County Party Chair is absolutely unacceptable, and he should resign.”
Miller had been running for state Republican chairman since Derek Brown’s recent announcement he would not seek a second term. It wasn’t immediately known if Miller’s campaign would continue.
Brown in a statement called Miller’s actions “appalling.”
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