Skip to content
News
Link copied to clipboard

North Dakotan takes Miss America crown

ATLANTIC CITY - Miss North Dakota, a 23-year-old who said President Trump was wrong to pull the United States out of the Paris climate accord, was named Miss America 2018 on Sunday night.

Aeowyn Holmes (right), 6, of Syracuse, N.Y., stands for the national anthem before the start of the pageant. Holmes is Mini Miss Spirit of New York. Augostina Mallous (center), 16, is the Miss America's Outstanding Teen from New Jersey.
Aeowyn Holmes (right), 6, of Syracuse, N.Y., stands for the national anthem before the start of the pageant. Holmes is Mini Miss Spirit of New York. Augostina Mallous (center), 16, is the Miss America's Outstanding Teen from New Jersey.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer

ATLANTIC CITY - Miss North Dakota, a 23-year-old who said President Trump was wrong to pull the United States out of the Paris climate accord, was named Miss America 2018 on Sunday night.

Cara Mund topped a field of 51 contestants to win the crown in the seaside resort where most of the 97 Miss Americas have been selected.

The second runner-up was Miss New Jersey, Kaitlyn Schoeffel. Miss Pennsylvania, Katie Schreckengast, was eliminated in an earlier round of winnowing.

;In one of her onstage interviews, Mund said Trump was wrong to withdraw the U.S. from the climate accord aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming.

"It's a bad decision," she said. "There is evidence that climate change is existing and we need to be at that table."

In an interview with the Associated Press before preliminary competition began, Mund, of Bismarck, said her goal was to be the first woman elected governor of her state.

She said she wants to see more women elected to all levels of government.

"It's important to have a woman's perspective," Mund, who had an internship in the Senate, told the AP. "In health care and on reproductive rights, it's predominantly men making those decisions."

The first runner-up was Miss Missouri, Jennifer Davis; third runner-up was Miss District of Columbia, Briana Kinsey; and fourth runner-up was Miss Texas, Margana Wood.

Earlier Sunday, as a deadly hurricane was slamming her home state, Miss Florida, Sara Zeng, sent a message of support to those in harm's way.

As judges were narrowing the field of 51 contestants (each state plus the district), they interviewed Zeng, a 22-year-old from Palm Coast, who noted that her family was safe.

But she expressed concern and support for friends and strangers endangered by Hurricane Irma, which was tearing its way up the Florida Gulf Coast on Sunday.

"I'm thinking about everyone in Florida every single day, but I know that regardless what happens, we'll all get through this together," Zeng said.

Shortly after her speech, judges read the names of the remaining Top 15 finalists, which did not include her.

Earlier in the week, Wood gave a shout-out to her flooded hometown, Houston; she won Wednesday night's swimsuit preliminary.

Many people in pageant-obsessed parts of the country were unable to watch the finale on TV, with thousands displaced in Texas and nearby, and a massive evacuation having been ordered for Florida.

Zeng won Friday's swimsuit prelim, and promised she'd be part of the post-Irma cleanup and recovery effort, whether as Miss America or not.

The competition took place at Boardwalk Hall. The pageant originated as a way to extend Atlantic City's summer tourism to the weekend after Labor Day.

The 51 women were vying to succeed the outgoing Miss America, Savvy Shields, who won the title last September as Miss Arkansas.

There was one big change to this year's finale. Contestants nearing the finish line faced a second round of onstage questioning as judges narrowed the field. Sam Haskell, executive chairman and CEO of the Miss America Organization, said the second round of onstage interviews was designed to bring out more about the contestants.

Before that, in a ceremony that TV viewers did not see, 12 Gold Star mothers were honored onstage as honorary Miss Americas for life, and spoke about their sons who were killed while serving in the military.