Erika Harold, Former Miss America, Running for Congress


Springfield, IL — Erika Harold, Miss America 2003, has announced that she is running for Congress.

Harold, a Harvard-educated lawyer, will contest Illinois’ 13th Congressional District seat in the Republican primary against first-term incumbent Rodney Davis. Harold was among several Republicans interested in the seat in 2012 when Rep. Tim Johnson unexpectedly dropped out, but party bosses selected Davis instead.

Davis won his election in a squeaker (by about 1,000 votes over Democrat David Gill) and is considered a vulnerable incumbent. “Davis, who holds a part of Abraham Lincoln’s old district and the state capital of Springfield — is considered one of the best pickup opportunities in 2014 for Democrats. After all, he had the narrowest margin of victory last cycle for any successful Republican.”

That being said, voters who want the seat to stay in Republican hands will be called upon in a primary to decide whether Davis or Harold would be the stronger GOP standard bearer in November 2014. Harold moved from Chicago back to her home town of Urbana in the run-up to the announcement and has been working for the Meyer Capel law firm in Champaign, and will be making a number of appearances in central Illinois this week, starting today with Urbana High School.

Erika Harold, 33, summarized the theme of her political campaign as follows: “I’ve been blessed to have had some incredible opportunities in my life … But I learned that our lives are defined not by the titles we earn but, rather, by the service we render, and at each point in my life, I’ve sought to serve. Whether it was by defending religious liberties as an attorney, preventing youth violence and bullying as Miss America, or doing prison ministry as a volunteer. I’m now seeking to continue that service by running to represent Illinois’s 13th District.”

Added Harold: “I’ll advocate for fiscal responsibility, work to safeguard our constitutional liberties, and promote our district’s agricultural and educational interests.”

Who do you think will ultimately prevail in the primary, Erika Harold or Rodney Davis?

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