Texas Education Board Candidate Known for Conspiracy Posts

AUSTIN (AP) – A retired Texas schoolteacher who claims President Barack Obama is a gay prostitute is the front-runner in a Republican primary runoff for a seat on the influential state education board. Mary Lou Bruner is back on the ballot Tuesday after nearly clinching the Republican nomination outright in March. That was despite her lengthy social media history of posting about conspiracy theories, including that Democrats orchestrated John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Her election would be stunning, even given that the 15-member Texas State Board of Education was chaired until 2011 by a creationist who tried weakening evolution lessons in science classes. The board more recently fought over whether textbooks contain anti-American biases. Bruner has said she wasn’t intending to run for office when she posted her beliefs on Facebook.