Miss Oklahoma, Olivia Jordan, wins Miss U.S. contest

Miss Oklahoma Olivia Jordan was crowned Miss U.S. 2015 on Sunday (July 12, July 13 PHT) after a pageant that saw some of America’s most attractive women parade in bikinis and ball gowns.

Jordan, 26, an actress and graduate of Boston University, won the 64th pageant after deftly answering a question about the nation’s next hot-button issue. Olivia Jordan, Miss Oklahoma, was crowned Sunday night, leaving Miss Texas Ylianna Guerra as first runner up and Miss Rhode Island Anea Garcia as second runner up.

Contestants must be aged between 18 and 27, unmarried, and have no children.

Wrapping up his wild week, the Donald was expected to attend Sunday night’s Miss USA Pageant, of which he is part owner, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but apparently having had enough following a campaign rally in Phoenix, Trump decided to forego the Miss USA Pageant and head back to New York, reports CNN. They were followed by 25-year-old Miss Nevada Brittany McGown as third runner-up and then Miss Maryland Mame Adjei, 23, rounding out the top five. From a local perspective, there’s still a question as to what the city and state’s investment of $545,000 in incentives will have the same return on ReelzChannel as a pageant televised on NBC.

Check out all of the photos of your new Miss US below…

“We really need to work on being an accepting society, and being a society where every single person – no matter your race, no matter your gender – is given the same rights and privileges and opportunities”, the model said at the show in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Cristian de la Fuente and Roselyn Sanchez also opted not to host the Spanish-language simulcast of the pageant. As a college student, she worked as a group fitness instructor and personal trainer, and pioneered a self-defense workshop that would become a continued tradition within her sorority, Alpha Phi. Trump isn’t the one running the show. Costa Rica pulled out of the Miss Universe competition following the remarks, and said they would not be sending their contestant to the worldwide pageant.

Jordan will hold the title for a year and will go on to represent the United States in the Miss Universe pageant.

“As you can see, this year’s contestants are all brilliant career women”, Newton said.

Shugart said the challenges of the past few weeks will make for great practice for whichever woman is crowned Miss US, teaching them how to stay focused: “You have to forget everything going on around you”.