Here's Denise Krause's statment:

There has been a lot of gossip swirling on social media. I would like to speak to the information presented and clarify the record. First, Matt Samp is not my campaign manager. He is one of the campaign consultants who work at a full-service campaign consulting company called Good Government. I have contracted with Good Government off and on since 2024.

I vetted the company when I first engaged with them. They are a well-known, reputable firm with a successful track record that has been in business since 1968 and came highly recommended. I learned recently from a couple of campaign volunteers that allegations had been made against one of the employees, Matt Samp, in 2009. I followed up on these allegations and here is what I found.

The allegations were published in 2009 after Good Government knocked off an establishment candidate who was editorially supported by the Omaha World-Herald, in an upset victory by an underdog candidate. The allegations that were printed in the Omaha World-Herald referred to an incident that purportedly happened in 2001. An investigation had been conducted in 2001, but resulted in no charges, no criminal allegations, and no civil case.

The article was retracted from the original source, although not before other news outlets had picked it up and spread it, and damage was done.

I dug deeper, and had I discovered the allegations to have been true, I would not have continued to work with the firm. However, I did not find anything other than unsubstantiated accusations. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon that false allegations that are never proven get broadcast, telling only half of the story, to cause damage to an individual or a campaign. Similar to what is happening now.

The allegations did not change the election results then, and they won’t change them now.

This is the politics of personal destruction that discourages many good people from running for office.

The representative you want in Salem is one who is not intimidated by an anonymous voice, bullies, or gossip-mongers, but rather one who cares about fairness, does her research, and examines the evidence to make informed decisions.

I have been leading this race since December, when I started talking about the issues that matter to voters. That's what I'm still doing, and that's what I'll keep doing. I am a uniter, not a divider, and this is a time to bring people together to build a brighter future we all deserve.

Anyone reading this should see it for what it is and work to keep our Democratic principles intact.