Former Miss America running for Congress as independent in North Dakota

Former Miss America Cara Mund has announced she’s running for Congress this year as an independent in North Dakota.

“On the 57th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, I am proud to announce that I am seeking to be North Dakota’s first female in the U.S. House of Representatives,” Mund wrote on Facebook Saturday.

The 2022 graduate of Harvard Law School became critical of the Miss America organization toward the end of her 2018 tenure, and now touts the experience as her inspiration for legal education and career in public service.

In her Miss America profile, Mund shared her political aspirations to become her state’s first female governor.

The Bismarck Tribune reported Sunday that Mund is gathering the thousand signatures needed to get on the North Dakota ballot as an independent in this year’s midterms. 

If she’s successful, she’ll face incumbent Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R) and Democrat nominee Mark Haugen in the fight for the state’s only open House seat in November. 

The Hill has reached out to Mund for comment.

Mund accused Miss America leadership of bullying and silencing her during her reign, which then-chairwoman Gretchen Carlson denied. Carlson, a former Fox News host, later resigned.