Cara Mund was Miss North Dakota and went on to win Miss America. Then she graduated from Harvard Law School. Now she is seeking North Dakota’s sole U.S. House seat as an independent promoting abortion rights in the strongly Republican state.
when their own candidate, Mark Haugen, folded soon after Mund’s entry. Haugen, who opposes abortion rights, cited pressure from his own party to get out. Longtime former Rep. Earl Pomeroy was among those who called Haugen, but he denied any pressure campaign; instead, Pomeroy said, Haugen was simply told he could not win.
Armstrong, an attorney and former state party chairman, cruised to reelection two years ago with 69% of the vote. He acknowledged that abortion would drive Democrats and some moderate conservatives to Mund but said, “I just don’t know what that number is.” More recently, she has said she disagreed with President Joe Biden on many policies, including student loan forgiveness. But she would have supported his infrastructure bill, which is slated to bring more than $2 billion in road funding to North Dakota. Armstrong opposed the bill.