Mellissa Carone speaks in front of the Michigan House Oversight Committee in Lansing on Dec. 2.Photo: JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty
Melissa Carone,who went viral for her supporting roleinDonald Trump’s attempts to have votes overturned in the2020 presidential election, has been disqualified from running in a Republican primary for Michigan’s State Senate.
In February, Carone, 35,announced a bidfor public office in Michigan,tellingPolitico earlier this yearthat the 2020 presidential election “pushed me into politics, for sure.”
But Carone’s name won’t be on the ballot in the Republican primary set for August.
“Eleven candidates have been disqualified because of false statements regarding the candidate’s compliance with the Michigan Campaign Finance Act,” the Michigan Department of Statesaid in a news release Tuesday, before listing Carone among those deemed ineligible.
Carone allegedly had made false statements on a required affidavit submitted to election officials. On one of the forms Carone signed, she indicated that she didn’t have any unpaid fines and that her campaign filings were all current,The New York Timesreports.
According to the county clerk in the district outside Detroit where Carone hoped to run, that was not the case. Carone owed at least $125 in late fees for not missing campaign filing deadlines, theTimesreports.
“From our standpoint, she was kicked off the ballot because she basically perjured herself,” Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini told theTimesof Carone’s previous violation, adding that making false statements on an affidavit like those candidates are required to sign and submit is a felony in Michigan.
“We’re just sticking to the letter of the law,” Forlini said. He added that Carone “likes the drama, and she’s been feeding on it.”
A spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of State declined to speak about Carone’s most recent disqualification for state senate, theTimessaid.
Carone blamed a former campaign manager for failing to submit the paperwork and accused Republican election officials and party leaders of preventing her from running for office.
“This is how our elected officials keep good candidates from getting elected,” Carone told theTimesin an interview on Wednesday. “I’m going to fight it. Even if I don’t end up on the ballot, my voice will be heard. I’m not going anywhere.”
A Michigan Republican Party spokesman told theTimesthere was no conspiracy to keep Carone off the ballot for the August primary.
“Terrible candidates seem to find it hard to take accountability for themselves so they pass the blame to others,” Gustavo Portela said in an email to theTimeson Wednesday.
source: people.com
