Democrat Mark Haugen announced that he is dropping out of the race for North Dakota’s at-large House seat on Tuesday, stating that he was pressured by his party to suspend his campaign after former Miss America Cara Mund garnered enough petition signatures to appear on the ballot as an independent.
Mund, a Democrat, cited her support of abortion access in deciding to launch her bid as an independent, which would have teed her up in a race against Haugen, who is anti-abortion, and GOP Rep. Kelly Armstrong.
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“Over the past several days, I have received pressure from many Democratic-NPL Party leaders and other activists on the far left to step away, since Cara Mund has entered the race,” he said in a statement to the Bismarck Tribune. “Much of the far left’s concern is my pro-life position for which I have refused to compromise. Knowing this, without the support from the Democratic-NPL party, I don’t see a viable path forward to winning this race.”
Mund applauded the move, noting in a statement that his decision to drop out “could not have been easy.”
“His willingness to step up for his party while also staying true to himself is something I admire greatly about him,” she said. “I wish Mark the best as he continues to be a true leader in the ND Dem-NPL for years to come. As an independent, I am committed to fighting for the people of North Dakota. It’s time we finally put the people over the party.”
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Winning the seat is a steep climb for Democrats, with Armstrong having won his last race with 69% of the vote.
The Cook Partisan Voting Index currently ranks the seat as an R+20.
