Stacey Williams makes push for Kamala Harris, connects with suburban women after going public with allegations against Donald Trump

Stacey Williams appeared at the doorstep of a Bucks County home Saturday morning, knocking on what would be the 21st door of her canvassing stint.

For much of the morning Williams, 56, was met with unanswered doors, Ring camera voicemails, or a man who angrily said he had already voted.

But when Margaret, a Lower Makefield resident who only provided her first name, answered the door, Williams was met with a much more personal connection and a moment to share why she was out and about on this chilly fall morning:

Williams, a former Sports Illustrated model who now lives in California, said that she was sexually assaulted by former President Donald Trump in 1993, while convicted sexual abuser Jeffrey Epstein watched.

Margaret’s face dropped and she enveloped Williams in a hug.

“I feel for you, I’m sorry,” said Margaret, who added that she couldn’t wait to vote on Tuesday.

Williams, who grew up in Wilkes-Barre and Mechanicsburg, Pa., had been politically involved for 17 years and is spending the homestretch of the 2024 campaign in one of the most crucial counties in her home state, mobilizing Democrats to cast their ballots for Vice President Kamala Harris while sharing her story and making connections with suburban women in the purple county along the way.

Saturday’s canvassing event, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, was Williams’ first time door-knocking since initially sharing her story during a “Survivors for Kamala” Zoom call on Oct. 21. That call was unaffiliated with the Harris campaign and Williams says her decision was not made in conjunction with the Democratic Party.

The Trump campaign has vehemently denied Williams’ sexual assault allegation. “These accusations, made by a former activist for Barack Obama and announced on a Harris campaign call two weeks before the election, are unequivocally false,” Karoline Leavitt, the Trump campaign’s press secretary, said in a statement. “It’s obvious this fake story was contrived by the Harris campaign.”

Williams is one of approximately 27 women to say Trump committed sexual misconduct. The GOP nominee has never been criminally charged with any such conduct, but a jury in a civil case in May 2023 found him liable for sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll.

Women in Philadelphia’s collar counties are poised to help determine the outcome of the 2024 election after playing a crucial role in delivering Pennsylvania for President Joe Biden in 2020. On Tuesday, they could potentially make Harris the first female president of the United States.

Ben Romero, an organizer with the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, said Saturday: “Bucks County is one of the most important places you can be today.”

The neighborhoods Williams visited were filled with crunchy fall leaves, the remnants of Halloween decorations, and a palpable connection between her and the women she encountered.

“You know what’s going to happen if he gets elected,” Williams said of Trump to one woman who already voted.

“I know,” she replied.

“God Almighty,” another woman, a Harris voter, replied when Williams shared her story.

Williams valued the more personal environment Saturday, after the global media attention her story received. She didn’t feel ready to deal with the backlash in 2016 or 2020, she said, explaining why she didn’t come forward with the allegations against Trump until now.

“You would throw up if you’ve seen some of the things that people have said to me online,” Williams said while sitting in the backyard of a family of Yardley Democrats who volunteered their home to be Saturday’s canvassing headquarters.

“But this is way more intimate,” Williams added. “Those women that I talked to were so warm and loving, like I knew that they were going to go in for the hug. You can just tell, you know, and women feel very connected at this moment in this country because of what’s happening.”

Helen Rosenthal, chair of the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault, was at Saturday’s canvassing event and said Williams sharing her experience likely resonates with a third of women in the United States who have been assaulted or harassed or targeted in some way.

“If that helps sort of frame him in a truthful way that lends support to vote for Kamala, then I’m really thrilled to do that,” Williams said of coming forward with her allegations against Trump. “I think women have had enough.”

As she returned to her old Pennsylvania stomping grounds, Williams reminisced about her favorite pizza in Northeastern Pennsylvania, visiting Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster, and deeming herself a “rabid Penn State fan” ahead of Saturday’s loss to rival Ohio State, the team’s first of the season.

“It doesn’t matter how long I’ve been gone, I come back here, and I love it. It’s familiar. My family’s here. All of my childhood friends and high school friends are here. So the fact that the state that I come from is also a critical swing state is kind of perfect,” Williams said. “It makes me even hungrier to get the vote out.”