Erika Harold
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox person Erika Natalie Louise Harold (born February 20, 1980) is an American attorney, politician, and former Miss America.
Harold was Miss Illinois 2002 and Miss America 2003. Her pageant platform was combating bullying. In 2014, she was a candidate in the Republican primary for the 13th Congressional District seat in the State of Illinois, ultimately losing the nomination to the incumbent, Rodney Davis.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the 2018 election, she was the Republican nominee for Illinois Attorney General.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Background and legal careerEdit
Harold was born in Urbana, Illinois. Her ethnicity includes Greek, German and English on her father's side; and on her mother's side, both Native American and African-American.<ref name="HarvCrim021405">Ury, Faryl. Miss America Visits HRC, The Harvard Crimson, February 14, 2005.</ref>
She graduated from the University of Illinois, Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in political science and was a Chancellor's Scholar.<ref name="meyerCapel-bio">Template:Cite news</ref> In 2007, she received her J.D. from Harvard Law School, where she won best brief in the Harvard Ames Moot Court semi-final and final rounds of competition.<ref name="Burke02012011" /><ref>Zhou, Kevin. Justice Kennedy Presides at Law School, Law students face Supreme Court justice in Moot Trial Competition, The Harvard Crimson, November 15, 2006.</ref> She has worked in Chicago, Illinois, as an associate attorney at Sidley Austin LLP and at Burke, Warren, MacKay & Serritella.<ref name="Burke02012011">Press Release. Firm Welcomes New Associate, Burke, Warren, MacKay & Serritella, P.C., February 1, 2011.</ref> She later was a commercial litigation attorney for Meyer Capel law firm in Champaign, Illinois.<ref name="Pantagraph6Jun13" /><ref name="2civility">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2022, she was appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court as executive director of the Commission on Professionalism.<ref name="2civility"/>
PageantsEdit
She became Miss America 2003 on September 21, 2002 (as Miss Illinois 2002). Her official platform was "Preventing Youth Violence and Bullying: Protect Yourself, Respect Yourself." Her platform choice grew out of personal experience; she recounted having been the subject of racial and sexual harassment<ref name="Salon2002Abstain">Riscol, Lara. Miss America's stealth virginity campaign Template:Webarchive, Salon, October 28, 2002.</ref> while growing up. In a May 2, 2003, speech, Harold said when she turned to teachers and school administrators, her concerns were dismissed.<ref name="NPR050203">Erika Harold, Miss America 2003, National Press Club Luncheon Speaker – May 2, 2003, National Public Radio, May 2, 2003.</ref> As part of her platform, she became a national spokesperson for Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, a national advocacy group.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In the first week of her reign, she also adopted a secondary platform for sexual abstinence.<ref name="Salon2002Abstain" /> The Washington Times suggested that pageant officials demonstrated a liberal bias when they allowed Miss America 1998 Kate Shindle, whose platform was HIV prevention, to advocate condom distribution and needle exchange during her time as Miss America.<ref name="Salon2002Abstain" /> On October 8, 2002, Harold gave a speech at the National Press Club in Washington during which she stated that she would talk about sexual abstinence and that she "will not be bullied" into dropping the topic from her platform.<ref>Miss America resists pressure to silence abstinence message Template:Webarchive, Baptist Press, October 9, 2002.</ref> Thirty-eight members of Congress sent her a letter of support, encouraging her to press on with her "healthy message of abstinence until marriage."<ref>Carmon, Irin. There She Is, Inside the year of the Harvard beauty queen, The Harvard Crimson, September 25, 2003.</ref> During her time as Miss America, Harold interacted with legislators and testified before Congress on bullying and abstinence, which provided her with additional motivation to pursue a political career.<ref>Friedman, Hilary Levey. Here She Comes, Miss (Elected) America, Slate, June 26, 2012.</ref>
PoliticsEdit
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Harold is a Republican, and was the Youth Director for the Republican primary campaign of Illinois gubernatorial candidate Patrick O'Malley.<ref>Plenty of Republican Lt. Governor choices exist for 2014 Template:Webarchive, Illinois Conservatives, February 13, 2013.</ref> She later served as a delegate to the 2004 Republican National Convention.<ref>Griffy, Leslie. Ex-Miss America a delegate to GOP convention, Chicago Sun-Times, January 12, 2004, page 6</ref> She gave a speech to the convention on August 31, 2004, to support George W. Bush's faith-based initiatives.<ref>Tartakoff, Joseph M. HLS-Bound Beauty Queen Boosts Bush, The Harvard Crimson, September 13, 2004.</ref> She worked on the Bush campaign to reach out to minority voters.<ref name="HarvCrim021405" />
In May 2012, Harold was one of four finalists for the Republican nomination for Congress in Illinois's 13th district, a nomination selected by the Republican chairmen of the 14 counties covered by the 13th Congressional District, instead of a primary election.<ref name="May2012ChiSunTimes">Pallasch, Abdon M. Former Miss America in running for Downstate GOP congressional nomination, Chicago Sun-Times, May 8, 2012.</ref> The Republican chairmen selected Rodney L. Davis, over Harold, and Davis was subsequently elected to Congress, in an expensive race.<ref name="Pantagraph6Jun13">Lowe, Kenneth. GOP candidate Erika Harold says she will stress 'conservative values', Bloomington-Normal Pantagraph, June 6, 2013.</ref><ref>Sabella, Jen. Erika Harold, Former Miss America, Considering GOP Bid For U.S. House (PHOTOS), Huffington Post, April 24, 2012.</ref>
2014 congressional campaignEdit
Template:See also On June 4, 2013, Harold announced she would run against Rep. Rodney L. Davis, R-Ill. in the 2014 Republican primary for Illinois's 13th congressional district.<ref>Blake, Aaron. Former Miss America Erika Harold launches congressional run, The Washington Post, June 4, 2013.</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Davis, Harold's opponent in the primary, was among the top targets for Democrats in 2014.<ref>Camia, Catalina. Ex-Miss America Erika Harold begins Congress campaign, USA Today, June 4, 2013.</ref> On March 18, 2014, Harold lost the Republican primary to Davis 54%–41%.<ref name=illprimary>Official Illinois State Board of Elections Results Template:Webarchive</ref><ref name=roll>Template:Cite news</ref>
2018 campaign for Illinois attorney generalEdit
Template:See also On August 15, 2017, Harold announced that she would seek the Republican nomination to be Illinois attorney general.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On March 20, 2018, she won the Republican nomination for attorney general garnering 59% of the vote in a two-way contest against Gary Grasso, a former mayor of Burr Ridge, IL, now a member of the DuPage County Board and a litigation attorney.<ref>Illinois Attorney General Election Results, Chicago Sun-Times, March 20, 2018.</ref> She lost the general election to Democrat Kwame Raoul garnering 43% of the vote to his 55%.
Electoral historyEdit
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ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
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