A Colorado Senate candidate, a human-trafficking survivor, says a former acquaintance and her Democratic opponent tried to shame her out of the race.

In a Facebook post last week, Rebecca Cranston, a candidate for Senate District 15 in Larimer County, went public with her story, after her primary opponent, Ralph Trenary, forwarded an e-mail he had received to a Larimer County party official.

Cranston is a Colorado native with a Georgetown University MBA who serves as director of regional programs for the Northern Colorado AIDS Project. Her post was propelled by the “Me Too” social media movement, which stems from the growing list of  women who have made sexual harassment allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.

“I was asked for a ‘subtle and dignified withdrawal’ as though I should be ashamed,” she wrote on her campaign Facebook page.  “I am here to tell women everywhere that you’re not responsible for your victimization, that victims will not be silenced and marginalized, and that I stand with you in opposition to a culture that would attempt to silence you with the weapon of shame.”

She did not initially name Trenary in her post, but he’s the only person running against her in the Democratic primary

To be clear, Cranston is not accusing Trenary of sexual harassment. She is accusing him of “victim blaming and victim shaming,” she told Colorado Politics Sunday afternoon.

In the Aug. 1 e-mail, Cranston CC’d Carla Massaro, the Democratic Party chairman for Senate District 15, when he replied to the woman who sent him an e-mail with the subject line “Rebecca Cranston is a fraud!!! Please read!!!”

“This is an incredible revelation,” he wrote. “I applaud you for stepping forward.

“I must proceed with caution, and allow neutral parties to investigate this … I would regret that this could turn into a public blow-up. Accountability is nearly equal to my stand for integrity. Reaching a dignified and subtle withdrawal would be my preference.”

Cranston said Sunday she did not know, for certain, if Trenary had told anyone else about the accusations in the e-mail. She said she had started to hear rumors that her childhood would be brought into the race, and she was not going to be intimidated or shamed.

Her Facebook post was meant to share her story, not impugn Trenary, she said.

“I couldn’t bear a whisper campaign,” Cranston said.

Cranston said she called Trenary after she learned of the e-mail and left a message, and he texted her back to say he “wouldn’t touch it” as part of their campaign against each other.

“He already had touched it,” she said, referring to the Aug. 1 e-mail forwarded to the party official.

Trenary, a former Loveland City Council member, is perplexed by the ongoing controversy he said he’s tried to avoid, for his opponent and himself.

“Under no circumstances did I apply and pressure, nor did I have any interest in exploiting those accusations. There are too many important issues and policies to address,” he told Colortado Politics. “The people of SD-15 deserve better and I am committed to delivering.

“It is ironic that within days after I signed the Democratic Party Clean Campaign Pledge this controversy is thrown in my face by Ms. Cranston.”

Cranston saw it differently.

“My opponent actively propagated false allegations, insinuating that I was complicit in my own childhood victimization, for his own political gain,” Cranston wrote on her Facebook page.

He did that by forwarding the e-mail he received from someone she was acquainted years ago, she told Colorado Politics.

Two Republicans are also running for the seat: former Republican congressional nominee Nic Morse, who announced his candidacy earlier this month, and Republican Rob Woodward. The seat is currently held by term-limited state Sen. Kevin Lundberg, who’s seeking the GOP nomination for state treasurer next year.

Lundberg ran unopposed in the Republican primary and unchallenged by a Democrat when he ran for re-election in 2014 The Senate District 15 seat hasn’t been held by a Democrat since Stan Matsunaka served from 1995 to 2003.