Democrats have opened a sexual harassment investigation into Brian Poindexter, the Democrat who recently defeated Republican Rep. Max Miller to represent Ohio's 7th congressional district. The allegations were made by a campaign worker and first reported by Politico on Friday, according to a report in the New York Post.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said it had been made aware of the allegations and takes them seriously. Julie Merz, the committee's executive director, said it had hired an independent, third-party firm to investigate any instance of inappropriate behavior, conduct interviews and gather the facts. The DCCC, the campaign arm for House Democrats, said the probe would be swift, thorough and transparent and that it would comment further once it was complete. Poindexter's campaign is also working with an outside firm to look into the matter.S2

A spokesperson for Poindexter's campaign said the allegation stemmed from an instance in which he gave what he thought was an innocuous compliment to a volunteer, and that he felt awful after hearing later that it had made her uncomfortable. Poindexter, 47, is a union ironworker who previously served as a city councilman in the Cleveland suburb of Brook Park. He won the race by about 10 percentage points.S2

Poindexter's victory came against an incumbent who was embroiled in a bitter child custody battle with his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, daughter of Sen. Bernie Moreno, who had accused Miller of physical abuse and of being a danger to their young child. Miller has vehemently denied those claims. Poindexter also has past controversies, having been arrested in 1998 for allegedly swallowing crack cocaine during a traffic stop and again in 2013 for allegedly slapping a stranger for no known reason, according to the Washington Free Beacon.S2