Mallory Hagan focuses on health care, transparency in congressional run
She is in favor of abortion rights, citing a history of sexual abuse in her family: "I do not ever see a scenario where I would make it more difficult for a woman to make the choice that's best for her family," she says. She believes climate change is occurring; supports LGBT rights; and says money spent on a border wall would be better invested in improving the current immigration system.
"If running as a Democrat means I have to curb who I am, then I shouldn't run," Hagan said in a recent interview. "People crave honesty, and they crave transparency. They may not always agree with you from a policy standpoint, but they'd rather you tell the truth of what they're getting into, rather than run as a Republican-lite or a Democrat-lite."
It could be an uphill race for the first-time candidate seeking to unseat eight-term incumbent
But Hagan is putting herself into the campaign, saying the travel is similar to her time as Miss America. "Except I'm not flying, I'm driving," she said.
Hagan says the country's leadership needs more racial, gender and age diversity to address the multitude of issues facing the nation. She notes the relatively few millennials in
"That's not representation to me, and I think our policy reflects that," she said. "How are we one of the only industrialized countries in the world that doesn't have maternity leave? How did we get here?"
Like other
Hagan wants her focus in
Hagan is also critical of tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, saying they will hurt manufacturing and farmers in the district, and accuses Rogers of "toeing the party line" on the issue.
"We have 57,000 people that depend on manufacturing," she said. "It's not just automobiles or the farmers. It's a ripple effect into the community."
Hagan is also critical of Trump's immigration policy, in particular the separation of children from parents crossing the border. "If you come to the table with compassion for the fact these are human beings, I would start there," she said. "I would think there are things that need streamlining."
Miss America, for better and worse
Born in
"At one point, the salon and the dance studio were literally next door to each other on
Hagan attended public schools in
One way to pay the bills: beauty pageants. Having done pageants since she was 13, she turned to them to help pay for college. In 2012, she won Miss New York and in 2013, took the crown as Miss America.
"I did not think I had a shot in hell of winning," Hagan said. "But I knew in my heart of hearts I had done everything I could, I left no stone unturned."
Being Miss America led to an "incredibly grueling" schedule where she would travel 20,000 miles a month. But, she says, she loved her time as Miss America, and made prevention of sexual abuse her major issue during her time in the job.
Hagan was also the subject of attacks. Last year,
"That part kind of sucked," she said. "There's no other way to put it. But I'm a firm believer that life prepares you for what's to come. The experiences I had before and after Miss America 3,000 percent prepared me for what I'm doing now."
Hagan said she is learning as she campaigns on the issues, and says she wants to be honest in that process.
"My hope is that my interest in bettering our state and our country is genuine, and I come to the table fully transparent in what I know and what I don't know, and transparent in what I'm learning, and transparent in that if I win this election
This is one of two candidate profiles running on
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