A New Jersey state senator who was on a commission that investigated a sexual assault allegation involving a state member of the Murphy administration says that she was surprised at New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s resignation announcement.

The Democratic New York governor will step down in 14 days following multiple allegations of sexual harassment. Cuomo denied any wrongdoing, but said that an impeachment investigation into the allegations would be a distraction while there was still so much to do for the state of New York, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In New Jersey, state Sen. Kristin Corrado was once on a bipartisan commission that investigated the Murphy administration's hiring of a man who was accused of rape by Murphy campaign volunteer Katie Brennan.

“I have to admit I was surprised that [Gov. Cuomo] resigned today. I did not think that he would. I thought that he was going to fight it,” she says.

Corrado says that there is still much work to be done to rid politics of sexual abuse and harassment.

“There seems to be this disconnect when allegations are made and when women come forward and report the behavior. At least in New Jersey and in New York, none of them were really believed, it was kind of pushed to the side. And it took extraordinary acts for the information to become public,” Corrado says.

Republicans have drawn parallels between the actions of Cuomo's administration against his accusers and allegations that the Murphy administration ignored Brennan, and allegations of a toxic environment for women on Gov. Phil Murphy's 2017 campaign.

“And it doesn't matter if it's a Republican or a Democrat that does these types of reprehensible acts, they should be called out for it and it shouldn't be tolerated from either party,” Corrado says. “Holding someone accountable is not about party politics. When it's wrong, it's wrong.”

Murphy had said since March he was troubled by the allegations against Cuomo, but was waiting for the conclusion of the New York Attorney General's investigation.

A spokesperson for the administration told News 12 that the governor did not have an official statement about Cuomo’s announcement, and referred to previous statements he made calling on Cuomo to resign.

The governor is currently on a 10-day trip to Italy with his family.