Sen. Dick Durbin Richard (Dick) Joseph DurbinTumultuous court battle upends fight for Senate McConnell focuses on confirming judicial nominees with COVID-19 talks stalled Senate Republicans signal openness to working with Biden MORE (D-Ill.) said Sunday that while the allegation that former vice president Joe Biden Joe BidenOmar fires back at Trump over rally remarks: 'This is my country' Trump mocks Biden appearance, mask use ahead of first debate Trump attacks Omar for criticizing US: 'How did you do where you came from?' MORE kissed a woman's head without consent in 2014 was not disqualifying for a potential 2020 presidential candidacy, it should be taken seriously.

“All of us should take such allegations seriously and with respect. I took Joe Biden’s statement to say that exactly,” Durbin, the second-ranking Senate Democrat, said on NBC News's "Meet the Press."

"Certainly one allegation is not disqualifying, but it should be taken seriously."

WATCH: Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) says he "knows nothing" about allegations over former VP Joe Biden's behavior. #MTP @SenatorDurbin: "Certainly one allegation is not disqualifying, but it should be taken seriously." pic.twitter.com/FzluUFUWY9 — Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) March 31, 2019

Former Nevada state assemblywoman Lucy Flores wrote in an op-ed Friday that Biden, then the vice president, came up to her from behind, put his hands on her shoulders, sniffed her hair and kissed her on the back of her head at a campaign rally supporting her bid for lieutenant governor in 2014.

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"The vice-president of the United States of America had just touched me in an intimate way reserved for close friends, family, or romantic partners — and I felt powerless to do anything about it," she wrote.

Biden, who is expected to announce his 2020 White House bid in the coming weeks, said Sunday that in his "many" years in public life, "I have offered countless handshakes, hugs, expressions of affection, support and comfort. And not once - never - did I believe I acted inappropriately."

"If it is suggested I did so, I will listen respectfully. But it was never my intention," he said.

Durbin stressed that he "knows nothing" about the allegations, but echoed the position of many other Democrats to say that Flores's accusation should be treated seriously.