Pima County Democratic party revoked support of Congressional District 2 primary candidate Yahya Yuksel following an explosive press conference a little over one week ago at which Yuksel failed to adequately defend himself against recently surfaced rape allegations.

Last week, Represent Me AZ held a forum at Tucson Magnet High School for the candidates of CD2 to discuss topics and issues that matter most to their voters. Six out of the seven candidates running for CD2 attended the event. All seven candidates were originally invited, but Represent Me AZ revoked Yahya Yuksel’s invitation.

“We announced on Sunday that we have revoked the invitation to Yahya Yuksel following his lack of responsibility in his handling of rape allegations,” said Marion Chubon, the moderator of the forum. “The Pima County Democratic party voted unanimously, in an extremely rare decision, to remove support for a Democratic candidate. And in doing so, they made a meaningful commitment to ensuring that party operations and support is consistent with Democrats’ values and our commitment to ending rape culture and all manifestations of it.”

According to the Pima County court documents, an unnamed female accused Yuksel of raping her approximately 10 years ago after a night of drinking Sky Vodka and Cola. Although officers did not pursue criminal charges against Yuksel, his rigid unwillingness to answer questions and his blatant inability to provide a meaningful explanation to the accusations has many voters unwilling to turn a blind eye.

At his press conference, Yuksel fled the room after he was unable to defend himself or answer questions, despite saying that the public could talk with him and that he would be listening, only moments prior. His mother and father stayed behind to advocate for their son, but those attending disregarded their defense and followed Yuksel outside, persisting with questions. After Yuksel remained unable to face the barrage of questions being thrown his way, his campaign manager physically pulled him away from the scene and secluded him in a nearby vehicle.