PETE LUCIDO

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan lawmaker who is under investigation for allegedly making a sexist comment to a reporter now faces a sexual harassment complaint from a fellow senator.

In a story published Tuesday, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow told Crain’s Detroit Business she planned to file a complaint against Republican Sen. Pete Lucido over an incident that occurred during an orientation near the Capitol shortly after the November 2018 election. McMorrow, a Democrat, said Lucido held his hand on her lower back for an extended period of time while suggesting she beat an incumbent Republican because of her looks.

“He shook my hand and with his other hand held my low back with his fingers on my hips, effectively upper rear, and we had a back-and-forth conversation,” McMorrow told Crain’s.

“And he asked where I was from,” said McMorrow, 33. “I said, ‘Royal Oak.’ He asked who I ran against. And I said, ‘I beat Marty Knollenberg.’ At which point he looked me up and down, raised his eyebrows and said, ‘I can see why.'”

McMorrow said Lucido’s scanning of her body and remark “felt really degrading and deflating.”

Lucido, 59, denied McMorrow’s sexual harassment allegation, calling it “completely untrue” and “politically motivated.”

Last week, the Senate opened a probe after a young female journalist said Lucido told her that high school boys visiting the Capitol could “have a lot of fun” with her.

McMorrow texted The Associated Press on Tuesday that she was in meetings but would talk further after the morning Senate session.