In the days since U.S. House candidate Bernadette Greene-Placentia publicly came forward alleging she was raped over the summer while repairing a campaign sign, she says women have been reaching out to her to share their own stories.

 The humbling thing is that so many - hundreds and hundreds of women from around the world - have taken the time to write me and tell me their own story,  Greene-Placentia told CBS News in an interview.  I would say about 70% of them have acknowledged that they never reported it, and they are thanking me for being in the public eye and talking about it and giving voice because they didn't feel like they had a voice when they went through the same thing. 

Greene-Placentia, a Democrat, is facing freshman Republican Rep. Abe Hamadeh on the ballot in November in Arizona's 8th District, located in the Phoenix suburbs. The district is rated as solidly Republican by Cook Political Report.

The reported sexual assault happened amid a heated campaign season, as concerns about political violence swirl. At a rally in September, an armed man lunged at Ohio gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton, and at a town hall earlier this year, a man lunged and sprayed vinegar at Rep. Ilhan Omar.

Greene-Placentia, who had been a long-haul trucker, told CBS News that  we are not a well-funded campaign,  and she and her staff were usually the ones putting up campaign signs or fixing them.

 I took pride in being able to, you know, do these things myself because we are a grassroots campaign, so it wasn't unusual,  she said of fixing signs at all hours.

She said that a  little after midnight  one night in August, she was repairing some supplies when she was hit on the back of the head. When she regained consciousness, she said she realized she was on the ground, and a  man was on top of me, and then I felt pain down there.  She said that man  climbed off,  and then another man assaulted her.

 At that point, I remember I started, like, moving around and kicking,  she said.  He said, 'You know, just not worth it.' And they left. I don't know how long I stayed there. 

Greene-Placentia sai
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