Cara Mund, who won the 2018 Miss America pageant and is running as a Republican for North Dakota’s U.S. Congressional seat, slammed Donald Trump for his felony conviction.
Her attack on Trump puts her in a small group of Republicans who do not support the former president.
“Proud to be the ONLY ND Republican candidate not worshiping a convicted felon in this election,” the beauty pageant winner posted on X Thursday night.
“I will be the voice of ND, not Donald Trump. I will be the leader who helps the party return to peace and order,” her statement continued, adding, “I am on the right side of history!”
On Thursday afternoon, a 12-person jury at a New York courthouse found Trump guilty of 34 crimes related to forging hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Miss North Dakota 2017 Cara Mund is crowned Miss America 2018 by Miss America 2017 Savvy Shields during the 2018 Miss America Competition Show at Boardwalk Hall Arena on September 10, 2017 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Mund, who is running for Congress in North Dakota, blasted former President Donald Trump on Thursday for being convicted of 34 crimes
Mund has been vocal during her campaign that she does not support the former president, saying, “I will not worship him.”
“At the end of the day, I don’t represent Donald Trump. I represent the people of North Dakota,” Mund has previously said.
In 2022, Mund ran unsuccessfully against Rep. Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D., for the state House at-large seat.
Currently, Mund is far behind pro-Trump candidate Julie Fedorchak, according to polls North Dakota News Cooperative.
Although the race is still wide open ahead of the June 11 primary, as the Republican field is crowded and many voters are still undecided.
Another Republican congressional candidate, former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, stopped short of bashing the former president for his criminal behavior, though he urged voters to respect the outcome of the case.
“Regardless of the outcome, I urge all Americans to respect the verdict and the legal process,” he wrote in a statement Thursday.
Mund, 30, was the first Miss America winner from North Dakota
Cara Mund via her Facebook campaign page
Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump walks out to speak to the press after being convicted in his criminal trial at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City
Trump has repeatedly denied committing crimes
“At this dangerously divisive moment in our history, all leaders – regardless of party – must not add fuel to the fire with more toxic partisanship.”
“We must reaffirm what this nation has created,” the statement concluded.
Hogan is running for Senate as a moderate Republican in his deep-blue home state, where he was a popular two-term governor.
And the former governor of Maryland has said that if elected, Republicans won’t always be able to count on his vote, underscoring how moderate he is.
His call for a measured response to the verdict was met with anger by Trump’s camp.
“You just ended your campaign,” Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita responded.