Update: Her campaign Facebook page has been taken down, along with the videos.
Meet GOP candidate Melissa Howard, who is running for Florida House District 73. She campaigns on having strong, conservative values. She’s been endorsed by the Florida Chamber of Commerce, the Florida Health Care Association, and numerous GOP officials.
She is also, as seen below, proudly pro-Trump. Just watch her campaign video, which can be found playing on Fox and Friends.
Wow, huh?
On her campaign website’s “About” page, Howard claims that she was “the first in her family to attend college, (and) she waited tables at Ponderosa and saved enough from her summer jobs to complete her education.”
Here’s Howard showing off her Miami (OH) University diploma with her proud mom, after her primary opponent questioned her credentials.
But this lovely tribute to education and family led to a slight hiccup in Howard’s quest for political power:
There is, however, one problem – the degree is a fake, Miami University General Counsel Robin Parker has confirmed to FLA News.
The degree Howard was holding in the picture contains inconsistencies, according to the university’s general counsel.
Miami University does not offer a Bachelor of Science in Marketing, instead it offers a Bachelor of Science in Business. Howard’s major while attending Miami University was Retailing, and if she had graduated would have received a Bachelor of Science in Family and Consumer Sciences.
The diploma Howard is holding contains the signatures of James C. Garland, President and Robert C. Johnson, Dean. Mr. Garland was President of Miami University in 1996, but Mr. Johnson was dean of the graduate school not the dean for either the School of Business nor the School of Education and Allied Professions. Johnson would not have signed Howard’s diploma.
Notice I said “slight hiccup”. This is Florida, after all. If you go to her Facebook page, it’s clear that her voters don’t care.
Who are Floridians going to believe? Fake News? Or Howard’s statement that she’s a “good, honest person”?
Don’t be surprised if she wins the primary, and even goes on to win the general election against Democratic opponent Liv Coleman in this gerrymandered, highly conservative district. There might have been a time when stuff like faking diplomas would have bothered republicans, but this is Trump’s party now. We’re living in an age where conservative candidates can lie with impunity, embrace treason, or even declare that “Hitler is right,” and still go on to win their primaries.
Win or lose, Melissa Howard truly does embody conservative values.