Florida GOP candidate accused of faking diploma drops out

SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) — A Republican candidate for the Florida Legislature who falsely claimed she had a college degree and posted a purported copy of her diploma online is dropping out of her race.

Melissa Howard on Tuesday told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune that the right thing to do was drop out of the race for a Florida House seat.

Howard last week posted a photo of herself with what looked like a Miami University diploma after being accused of lying about her degree. The Ohio university later sent reporters a statement saying she attended the school, but never graduated and the diploma Howard posted has inaccuracies.

Howard later posted an apology on her campaign Facebook page and admitted she didn’t graduate from the school.