OCTOBER 17, 2022:
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Former Miss America Cara Mund has raised less than $100,000 in her late-starting bid to win North Dakota’s congressional seat as an independent. Federal campaign finance reports through Sept. 30, 2022, show Mund has raised about $78,000 since announcing in August, compared to almost $1.9 million for GOP Rep. Kelly Armstrong. Mund has most of that left to spend in the final three weeks of the race. But Armstrong has more than $700,000 in cash on hand. Mund is a Harvard Law School graduate who has attracted interest for her support of abortion rights and self-proclaimed outsider status. Democrat Mark Haugen, an abortion opponent, dropped out of the race soon after she entered, citing pressure from his own party.
SEPTEMBER 27, 2022:
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — When Cara Mund was competing to become Miss North Dakota, a key part of her platform was increasing the number of women elected to political office. After she went on to win Miss America, she traveled the country to encourage women to use their voice to make an impact. Now, the recent Harvard Law School graduate is taking on the job of candidate herself in a run for North Dakota’s House seat as an independent. Mund is gambling that her primary issue — support for abortion rights — plus her outsider status and her celebrity can win over enough voters to overcome a far-better-funded incumbent, Republican Rep. Kelly Armstrong.
Former Miss America Cara Mund poses in front of the North Dakota state Capitol in Bismarck, N.D., Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022. Mund is running as an independent candidate for North Dakota’s lone U.S. House seat. (AP Photo/James MacPherson)
SEPTEMBER 6, 2022, UPDATE:
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Former Miss America Cara Mund’s entry into North Dakota’s U.S. House race has led the Democratic candidate to drop out, citing pressure from his own party to step aside. Mund entered the race in August as an independent, citing her support for abortion rights as a major reason. The Bismarck Tribune reports that Democrat Mark Haugen said that his opposition to abortion rights cost him support in the party. Democratic-NPL Party Chairman Patrick Hart said in a statement that he doesn’t “tell anyone what to do,” but that he supports Haugen’s decision to drop out. The conservative state’s only House seat is held by Republican Rep. Kelly Armstrong.
SEPTEMBER 6, 2022:
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Democrat Mark Haugen has suspended his campaign for a U.S. House seat from North Dakota, saying he was pressured by his party to step aside for former Miss America Cara Mund. Mund entered the race in August 2022 as an independent, citing her support for abortion rights as a major reason. The Bismarck Tribune reports that Haugen opposes abortion and that he said his stance cost him support in the party. He said he didn’t see a path to win. Democratic-NPL Party Chairman Patrick Hart said in a statement that he doesn’t “tell anyone what to do,” but that he supports Haugen’s decision to drop out.
AUGUST 8, 2022:
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A former Miss America who gained attention by criticizing the organization near the end of her reign in 2018 is planning to run for Congress in North Dakota as an independent. The Bismarck Tribune reports that Cara Mund announced her candidacy Saturday (Aug. 6, 2022) and said she plans to start gathering the 1,000 signatures she needs to get on the ballot. If Mund succeeds, she will face incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Kelly Armstrong and Democrat Mark Haugen in November. Mund generated headlines by saying in 2018 that she had been bullied and silenced by leaders within the Miss America organization. Mund has said that her time as Miss America inspired her to be involved in public service.
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