Former Miss America Mallory Hagan mulls run for Congress in Alabama as a Democrat

Updated Jan 29, 9:02 PM; Posted Jan 29, 8:57 PM

Mallory Hytes Hagan, an Alabama woman competing as Miss New York, won the Miss America Pageant in 2013. (File)

By Howard Koplowitz

Former Miss America and Alabama beauty queen Mallory Hagan is considering running for Congress as a Democrat in the eastern part of the state.

Hagan, who was crowned Miss America in 2013, Miss New York in 2012 and competed in Alabama pageants, created a Twitter page proclaiming she is "exploring" running for Alabama U.S. House District 3, which is currently occupied by Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Saks and covers eastern Alabama.

A crowdfunding page was set up to help the Opelika resident accept donations for a possible campaign, although Hagan did not publicly claim the page, which raised $2,125 from 34 contributors as of late Monday afternoon.

Hagan, who works as a nightly news co-anchor for the NBC affiliate in Columbus, Georgia, declined to comment about her potential congressional run until Feb. 9, the deadline for Democrats to qualify for the ballot.

As Miss America, Hagan became a children's advocate, working with organizations that help victims of sexual abuse. She also has given speeches against bullying and promoted positive body image among girls.

Hagan was attacked in internal emails in 2013 among higher-ups with the Miss America Organization who criticized her over her weight and speculated about her sex life. Then-Miss America Organization CEO Sam Haskell called Hagan "gross," "huge" and a "piece of trash" in the emails, which led to his resignation.

http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2018/01/former_miss_america_mallory_ha.html