Nebraska GOP governor hopeful accused of groping women

By GRANT SCHULTE
Associated Press

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A top Republican candidate for Nebraska governor is facing an onslaught of criticism after several women, including a GOP state lawmaker, alleged that he groped them at public events and forcibly kissed one woman. The accusations drew widespread condemnation from Charles W. Herbster’s primary opponents, Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts and the 13 women from both parties who serve in the Legislature. The Nebraska Examiner, which first reported the allegations, interviewed six women who claimed that the 67-year-old Herbster groped their buttocks, outside of their clothes, during political events or beauty pageants. A seventh woman said Herbster once cornered her privately and kissed her forcibly. Herbster fervently denies the claims.