GOP House candidate Chet Stokes confesses he’s not an Auburn grad after all
Image via Chet Stokes.

chet stokes
Stokes says he was seven credit hours short of graduating.

A Republican House candidate from Jacksonville Beach is setting the record straight regarding his educational attainment.

Chet Stokes, a local City Councilman running for the open seat in the new House District 16, is clearing the air as the week closes on his lack of a college degree, just a few credit hours shy of graduation.

“I attended Auburn University from 2009-2014 and left to begin my business career 7 credit hours short of graduating. Our candidate biography listed this information incorrectly. We have corrected this oversight and I sincerely apologize for the error,” Stokes said in a statement from his campaign Friday evening.

Stokes is one of three Republican candidates in a closed Primary for the new seat that encompasses the Beaches and extends to the Regency Square area. He has over $200,000 on-hand between his campaign account and his political committee, Strengthening Florida’s Future.

Former state Rep. Lake Ray, who represented the former HD 12 through 2016 that included some of the western part of the new district, has about the same amount of money left to deploy. He also had over $200,000 on hand as of the most recent numbers between his campaign account and the A Stronger Florida for Us political committee.

A third candidate, Kiyan Michael, has nearly $20,000 on hand.

Only Republicans will vote in this Primary, which has been closed by not one but two write-in candidates presenting themselves before Qualifying.

A.G. Gancarski

A.G. Gancarski has been the Northeast Florida correspondent for Florida Politics since 2014. He writes for the New York Post and National Review also, with previous work in the American Conservative and Washington Times and a 15+ year run as a columnist in Folio Weekly. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter: @AGGancarski


12 comments

  • PeterH

    July 23, 2022 at 12:15 am

    Why do Republicans lie about such drivel? You’ve either graduated from College or you haven’t?

    Did you really think someone wouldn’t find out you’ve made stuff up?

    • Phil Morton

      July 23, 2022 at 2:12 am

      They lie because they know their base will not care. Did you see the Colorado Republican who committed voter fraud because “everyone else does”. All politicians lie and cheat or so they tell themselves.

    • Hmmm

      July 23, 2022 at 11:52 pm

      Hmmmm Joe Biden isn’t a Republican…

      ‘Biden was running for the Democratic Presidential Nomination in April 1988 and was questioned about his law school record. He responded, “I think I probably have a much higher IQ than you do. I suspect. I went to law school on a full academic scholarship, graduated in the top half of my class. I was the outstanding student in the political science department at the end of my year. I graduated with three degrees. And I’d be delighted to sit down and compare my IQ to yours if you’d like, Frank.”

      Biden now concedes he did not graduate in the top half of law school class, that he does not have three degrees from college and that he was not named outstanding political science student in college.

      When the video surfaced five months later, Biden issued a statement acknowledging that he had lost his temper and misstated several facts about his past.’

  • RTR

    July 23, 2022 at 8:14 am

    How many other lies has Chet told?

    Because if he is willing to lie about graduating from a cow college, he is willing to lie about anything.

    • Charlotte Greenbarg

      July 23, 2022 at 1:42 pm

      And the Democrats ignore Andrew Gillum the biggest fiasco of the last 25 years

      • PeterH

        July 23, 2022 at 2:48 pm

        No Charlotte!

        Your Trump Crime Family’s attempted coup, INCOMPETENT Bush2 golf course extravaganzas while Bin Laden was planning his invasion of the USA, Nixon’s orchestrated Watergate break-in and forced resignation, and Reagan tripling the national debt to lower unemployment exactly 1% point ….followed by over 100 appointee indictments and convictions…..ARE ALL INTERNATIONAL EMBARRASSMENTS THAT EXCEED ANY “FIASCO” YOU CAN POSSIBLY IMAGINE.

  • College Graduate

    July 23, 2022 at 9:00 am

    Oversight? He told me himself he graduated at my door! You can’t lie to your voters and constituents! Chet do the right thing and withdraw from the race and resign from the Jax Beach City Council!

  • Yeah

    July 23, 2022 at 9:51 am

    They should make back the schools like Aristotle.and become sky gazers

  • HollyL.

    July 23, 2022 at 1:41 pm

    The groups that endorsed him should reconsider and pull their support. He is running a very nasty campaign and now it turns out he is a liar. He was at Auburn for 5 years and could not graduate. That makes one wonder how credible he may be as a representative.

  • Tom R.

    July 24, 2022 at 10:30 am

    Gets caught lying, then changes his wording to “attended Auburn.” He just doesn’t get it, deceiving and lying aren’t acceptable. A true case of White Privilege thinking it’s ok to lie and mislead.. The guy grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth and a father who was too busy running a business to discipline Chet as a child. The father should be ashamed! 5 1/2 years of college studying political science?!?! I want to see his transcripts! This guy is an idiot if you can’t get a poli sci degree in 5 1/2 years!!!

Comments are closed.


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