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

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 greeted with a much more personal connection and had a moment to share why she was out on this cold morning autumn:

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

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

“I’m sorry for you, I’m sorry,” said Margaret, who added that she was looking forward to voting on Tuesday.

Williams, who grew up in Wilkes-Barre and Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, has been involved in politics for 17 years and is spending the 2024 campaign season in one of her home state’s most important counties, mobilizing Democrats to vote for his vice president Kamala Harris while sharing her story and making connections with purple county suburban women along the way.

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

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

Williams is one of about 27 women who have said Trump engaged in sexual misconduct. The GOP candidate was never charged criminally for such behavior, but a jury in a civil case in May 2023 found him responsible for sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll.

The Women of the Collar Counties of Philadelphia are ready to help determine the outcome of the 2024 election after playing a crucial role in providing Pennsylvania for the president Joe Biden in 2020. On Tuesday, he could make Harris the first female president of the United States.

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

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

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

“I know,” she replied.

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

Williams welcomed the more personal setting on 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 hasn’t brought forward the allegations against Trump until now.

“You’d puke if you saw some of the things people have said to me online,” Williams said as he sat in the backyard of a Yardley Democratic family who volunteered their home to be canvassing headquarters Saturday.

“But this one is much more intimate,” Williams added. “Those women I spoke to were so warm and loving, it was like I knew they were going to go for a hug. You can just say, you know, and women feel very connected right now in this country because of what’s going on.”

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

“If that somehow helps frame him in a truthful way that provides support to vote for Kamala, then I’m very happy to do that,” Williams said of her allegations against Trump. “I think women are fed up.”

While returning to her old stomping grounds in Pennsylvania, Williams reminisced about her favorite pizza in Northeastern Pennsylvania, visiting Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster and considering herself a “piss off.” Penn State fan” before Saturday’s loss to rival Ohio State, the team’s first of the season.

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