Former Miss America runs again for North Dakota’s only U.S. House seat in a crowded GOP primary

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Republican primary voters in North Dakota will have an assortment of choices for the state’s only U.S. House seat, with candidates ranging from the little-known to a former Miss America.

Monday was the candidate filing deadline for the June 11 primary election. Along with a new representative, North Dakotans will elect a new governor this year, setting the stage for a decisive Republican primary showdown between the state’s lone congressman and lieutenant governor. Republicans hold every statewide office and congressional seat, and Democrats have not won a statewide election since 2012.

Election officials accepted candidate filings throughout Monday in the wake of weekend endorsing conventions held by the Republican and Democratic parties.

The crowded Republican House race is poised for an energetic campaign season after a contentious endorsement process and Monday’s entry of former Miss America 2018 Cara Mund, an attorney who ran unsuccessfully for the seat as an independent in 2022.

The other GOP candidates are military veteran and former U.S. State Department employee Alex Balazs, former state Rep. Rick Becker, Public Service Commissioner Julie Fedorchak and Sharlet Mohr, a little-known candidate who did not immediately return a phone message.

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