US Democrat who defeated embattled Republican Max Miller faces harassment probe - report

US Democratic congressman-elect Brian Poindexter, who defeated Republican incumbent Max Miller in a closely watched congressional race in Ohio, is under investigation over allegations of sexual harassment involving a campaign volunteer, The Washington Post reported on Friday.The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) confirmed that it had hired an independent third-party firm to investigate the allegations against Poindexter, who won Ohio's 7th Congressional District by nearly 10 percentage points in the November 3 midterm elections.According to an aide to Poindexter who spoke to The Washington Post on condition of anonymity, the allegation concerns a remark that the congressman-elect “thought was an innocuous compliment to a volunteer.”“He heard later that it made her feel uncomfortable and he felt awful,” the aide said, adding that Poindexter's campaign had hired a human resources firm to examine the incident.Two political action committees that supported Poindexter's campaign, the Blue Dog PAC and the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC, said they learned of the allegation in the final days of the election campaign and subsequently withdrew their endorsements.Democratic groups withdraw endorsements over harassment allegationThe committees also notified the DCCC but did not publicly explain their decision at the time, citing the wishes of the woman who made the allegation.According to the PACs, the woman requested that details of the incident remain confidential because she “did not want her…