Florida GOP Candidate Lies About Degree—Forced To Drop Out
It should come as no surprise to even one person that another Republican has been caught breaking the law. Melissa Howard had vowed to keep fighting for a House seat in Florida, but the blonde bomber now says she’s out.
“I have come to the realization that the right thing to do for my community is to withdraw from the race…”
…she texted the Sarasota Herald-Tribune on Tuesday.
The 46-year old Howard had said she’d keep vying for a seat in the state’s 73rd House District, even after it was revealed the diploma she produced from Ohio’s Miami University was a complete fake. The degree on the diploma doesn’t even match what the college offers among other things. According to CNN her website bio has now been scrubbed of references to her college attendance.
A representative from the Florida Department of State tells the Washington Post the department hasn’t yet received a withdrawal notice from Howard, though on Tuesday she’d told the Herald-Tribune she’d make it official “today.”
Forging a diploma to misrepresent one’s academic standing is a misdemeanor in Florida and could result in a $1,000 fine and up to a year in prison, though a Miami University spokeswoman tells the Post the college doesn’t intend to go after Howard who wrote to the Tribune:
“I made a terrible error in judgement [sic]. I am thankful for everyone who gave so much toward my success, and I am deeply sorry.”