A Democratic Party official in Florida who was running to serve in the state legislature has withdrawn from the race after a number of claims about her career and credentials were unable to be corroborated.
Elizabeth McCarthy, legislative director of the LGBTA caucus of the Florida Democratic Party, had formally filed to be a candidate to represent Florida’s 28th district in the state House, but has now dropped out following intense media scrutiny.
Contrived career claims
Florida Politics reported earlier this month that a number of McCarthy’s claims about her credentials simply didn’t check out. First and foremost, the Democrat said she had been a doctor who’d operated on victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando on June 12, 2016.
McCarthy, who has been campaigning alongside U.S. Rep. Darren Soto (D) and served as a health care adviser to him, not only claimed to have been working as a cardiologist at an Orlando hospital that night, but also alleged: “I removed 77 bullets out of 32 people, and helped with the triage.”
As it turns out, the Florida Department of Health has no record of McCarthy being a licensed doctor in the state. Likewise, Orlando Health — parent company of the Orlando Regional Medical Center — had no records of a doctor by McCarthy’s name ever working for them.
McCarthy had also claimed to have worked for the Florida Heart Group of Orlando, but an official with that company had no record of her employment either.
College can’t find her
As for her college background, McCarthy had claimed to have played women’s basketball in the late 1980s and early 1990s for both the University of Florida and Florida State University, but the athletic departments of both schools had no record of a student-athlete by her name ever playing for their teams.
She also claimed to have received a bachelor’s degree from Florida State, but the school had no record of that, either.
Similarly, McCarthy also said she received a medical degree from the University of Central Florida (UCF) in 2014 that allowed her to transition from being a registered nurse to a doctor, but UCF officials said there was no record of any student by that name receiving a medical degree.
The Florida Department of Health did confirm that McCarthy was a registered nurse in the state, but said her license expired in 2005 and had not been renewed.
Too much pressure
After the media began to dig into her past and ask questions about why there was no record to support her claims, McCarthy announced that she would place her campaign on hold. Roughly two weeks later, on June 28, Florida Politics reported that McCarthy had officially withdrawn from the race for the state House seat in District 28.
In an emailed statement to the media outlet, McCarthy wrote:
After thoughtful contemplation, due to professional obligations, I am withdrawing as a Democratic candidate seeking the nomination and election in Florida House District 28.
These considerations have made it impossible for me to continue forward as a candidate, giving the campaign the attention it deserves, while also being able to provide the attention my work requires.
It seems that at best, McCarthy greatly embellished her career history, and at worst, she straight-up lied about it. Regardless, the media scrutiny into her uncorroborated claims has finally compelled McCarthy to end her candidacy.
Good riddance.
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