Cara Mund, a former Miss America, has qualified to run for North Dakota’s only U.S. House seat, running against Republican Rep. Kelly Armstrong, who is seeking his third term in the position, according to CBS News.
In 2018, Mund held the crown as the first-ever Miss America from North Dakota, per the Bismarck Tribune.
The news: Mund is running as an independent, abortion-rights candidate, stating that the overturn of Roe v. Wade is what prompted her to run for office in the deep-red state, The Associated Press reported.
- The overturn was “just a moment where I knew we needed more women in office,” Mund told The Associated Press.
- If she takes the seat, Mund will be North Dakota’s first woman in Congress.
Details: Mund’s run for Congress will be an uphill battle, given North Dakota’s stark-red voting history, which was what helped to elect her opponent, Armstrong, with 69% of the vote in 2020, per Ballotpedia.
- FiveThirtyEight’s election forecast predicts that North Dakota will continue its red trend in this year’s midterms, electing Armstrong to the seat.
- The AP reported that as of Oct. 17, Mund had only raised about $78,000 since her late candidacy announcement.
- Federal campaign reports show that Armstrong, who has had a much longer political career, holds an advantage over Mund, with a campaign budget of over $1.9 million, per the AP.
Worth noting: Mund’s run for Congress, along with pressure from his own party, pushed the state’s only Democrat, Mark Haugen, out of the race in September.
- Even though he was running as a Democrat, Haugen opposes abortion rights, which is what he said cost his support from the party, according to the AP.
About Cara Mund: Mund stated that her time in the position encouraged her to pursue a legal education, which led her to graduate from Harvard Law School last spring, per the Bismark Tribune.
- She has also shared her aspirations of becoming the state’s first female governor, The Hill reported.
- The Tribune also reported that Mund served time as the Goodwill Ambassador for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, and has worked with the Make-A-Wish foundation and the United Service Organization.
- At the end of her time as Miss America, Mund garnered national attention for claiming that she had been bullied and silenced by authorities in the Miss America Organization. Following these claims, board Chairwoman Gretchen Carlson resigned.