GOP candidate for 2nd District drops out after college degree questions

Republican Laquan Austion dropped his bid for the 2nd District seat in the House of Delegates, just two days after defiantly proclaiming a controversy over his online resume was a creation of the “liberal media.”

Outgoing Republican Speaker of the House William Howell announced Friday that Austion withdrew from the race following revelations that he claimed to have a pair of degrees from George Washington University on his LinkedIn page that he hadn’t actually earned.

“We appreciate his willingness to run for office and serve,” Howell wrote in a statement. “We have already started the process of recruiting a strong candidate that will give voters a clear choice in November."

Austion, who didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, was running against Democrat Jennifer Foy for the chance to fill the seat vacated by retiring GOP Del. Mark Dudenhefer. Jeff Dove, who’s currently running for the Republican nomination to challenge Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-11th District, is considering stepping in for Austion, according to a Republican source with knowledge of the deliberations. The district covers parts of Prince William and Stafford counties.

Austion wasn’t contested in his bid for the party’s nomination earlier this year, as Foy and fellow Democrat Josh King tangled in a primary contest that was ultimately decided by just 14 votes.

But Austion has come under fire in recent days after a Richmond Times-Dispatch reporter discovered that Austion listed a pair of degrees on LinkedIn that he hadn’t completed, and owed thousands of dollars to creditors in New Jersey.

In an Aug. 9 interview, Austion clarified he was in pursuit of the degrees he had listed online, and apologized for any confusion. But he also refused to answer further questions about his background, calling the entire issue a “tacky attack” leveled “by the liberal media because I'm a black conservative — the Democrats’ worst nightmare.”

(Editor's Note: In September 2018, Austion did earn a master's degree in public policy from Liberty University.)  

House Democrats blasted Austion as “fundamentally dishonest” and unfit for office, and Foy agreed that people in the district deserved answers on Austion’s background, but he gave no indication he would be dropping out of the race.

As recently as Aug. 10, he was still posting to his campaign Twitter account about the election.

"Running for elected office is very hard,” Dottie Miller, chair of the Prince William County Republican Committee, wrote in a statement. “We appreciate Laquan and Alicia's willingness to step into the ring and try, but we also understand his decision to end his campaign. The 2nd House of Delegates District is still a top priority for us and we intend to keep this seat in November."

The district is among the most tightly contested in the entire state, flipping repeatedly between Democrats and Republicans in recent cycles. The race has emerged as a top Democratic target in 2017, as the district’s voters voted overwhelmingly for Hillary Clinton last fall.