A candidate dismissed by the Progressive Conservatives in Nova Scotia over controversial social media posts is mulling a run as an Independent.

Jad Crnogorac told the CBC's Maritime Noon she's received "overwhelming" support since the Tories dropped her as their candidate for Dartmouth South on Tuesday.

"It's very humbling how much people support me and how we can't say anything today because people are hypersensitive," said Crnogorac.

At issue are tweets she made in recent years, including one in which PC Leader Jamie Baillie said Crnogorac appeared to be making light of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Crnogorac tweeted an image in March 2015 of a person wearing a T-shirt with the words, "I can't breathe." Those were said to have been among the last words of Eric Garner, a black man who died in 2014 following a chokehold by New York City police officers.

"Me after my cheat meal and [I] have eaten too much," Crnogorac said in a caption accompanying the photo.

Me after my cheat meal and i have eaten too much .. <a href="http://t.co/5nTOITQ4PQ">pic.twitter.com/5nTOITQ4PQ</a> —@jadcrnogorac

In another tweet from October 2015, Crnogorac appears to laugh over a comparison between the date rape drug Rohypnol and Viagra, which can be used for erectile disfunction.

'No good explanation'

Baillie stood by his decision to oust Crnogorac.

"Look, there are some things that there's just no good explanation for," he told reporters Wednesday.

"Making fun of the dying breath of a black man who was part of the Black Lives [Matter] movement is not funny under any explanation. Making fun of a date rape drug is not funny under any explanation."

My co worker just said "isnt womens viagra called a Roofie". Hahahahahhahahahaha i needed a good laugh. 😆 —@jadcrnogorac

Crnogorac defended the Rohypnol tweet on Maritime Noon, saying she was reacting to a comment from a co-worker and not trying to make a joke.

"I don't think date rape, rape or roofie drugs are funny," she said.

"I was in disbelief that my co-worker, who is a man in his mid-40s, did not know the difference between a date rape drug and Viagra."

Denied chance to explain

Crnogorac said she never got a chance to explain the context of the tweet, something afforded to PC candidate Matt Whitman, who posted a video online in March in which he yelled "Chinese fire drill!"

The video drew criticism on Twitter from people who felt it was racist. Whitman later pulled the video from YouTube and apologized.

"[Baillie] gave Matt Whitman the opportunity. He didn't do that with me. Why? I don't feel, like, as [valuable] to the PC party as Matt was," said Crnogorac.

Baillie rejected that argument Wednesday and denied Crnogroac's claim the party has a double standard when it comes to candidates who are women.​

"I have no interest in the gender of the candidate," he said.

"I think everyone should be treated equally and with the same standard."

Crnogorac's case different

Baillie said comparing what happened in the Whitman case to Crnogorac's was comparing "apples to oranges."

"Mr. Whitman has proven that he didn't have any deliberate intent to hurt people and he's apologized for it and he has moved on, and so have we," he said.

"In this case, on something that not only includes sexual violence, or making jokes about rape culture, but also included numerous other posts that were close to the line if not over, that decision had to be made."

PC Leader Jamie Baillie says the party doesn't hold its female candidates to a higher standard than men. (CBC)

Crnogorac also accused the party of forcing her to remove an image from Instagram of her posing in a leather jacket with nothing on underneath for the upper half of her body.

"I am a personal trainer. I am a fit, healthy woman and I'm proud of myself inside and out and I did not want to take down any pictures, but they said, 'Absolutely, you need to take this particular one down,' so I complied," she said.

Baillie said while the party may ask a candidate to take down an image, the final decision is made by the candidate.

"Our team talks to every candidate about their online presence and they provide advice, but candidates themselves make those decisions," he said.

The next step

Crnogorac said she's looking into the legalities of continuing to run for the seat as a Independent in the May 30 vote.

She suggested as soon as she was clear on the rules, she would continue to campaign.

"I think that's a high possibility right now. We're just reviewing how we want to do this," said Crnogorac.

Since the deadline for withdrawing from the race has passed, Elections Nova Scotia said Crnogorac's name will remain on the ballot under the party she was originally running for, though any votes cast for her will not benefit the PCs.

The same goes for an NDP candidate who resigned on Monday after coming under fire for comments he made online.