Miss New York Kira Kazantsev won the Miss America 2015 contest in a pageant held on September 14, 2014 at the Atlantic City in New Jersey. This marks the third straight year that the Miss America winner came from the state of New York.
The first runner-up was Miss Virginia Courtney Paige Garrett.
Other top 5 finalists were Miss Arkansas Ashton Jo Campbell; Miss Florida Victoria Cowen; and Miss Massachusetts Lauren Kuhn.
Miss America winners do not compete internationally and is the precursor of Miss USA pageant.
Was this the pageant won by Nina that caused a racist uproar?
Yep
Yes the very same. As a New Yorker, I am proud of our three-peat winners, and especially proud that the last 2 Miss Americas, Nina and Kira, are daughters of immigrants from India and Russia. That is what makes America (and New York in particular) great, that people can come here from around the world and dream big, work hard and have that dream come true. The Miss America Pageant is part of that dream, giving away $45 million in scholarships to help these very smart women complete their educations. Cheers to our new Miss America!
A little bit of corrections maybe in order here 🙂 I’m always been a New Yorker and lived there for many years (now in the midwest).. and very proud for the 3-peat !!! of the Big Apple! Nina Sanchez won the Miss USA has Spanish descent and will represent for the Miss Universe this year, the Miss America last year, I think Ms Duvulari(?) has Indian descent. Miss America title holders don’t compete internationally as I understand and I agree with the scholarship part.. FYI 🙂
BTW, Also Nina Sanchez represented Nevada but was questioned her residency status because she’s originally from California and competed there then moved to Nevada to compete in the Miss USA … 🙂 FYI