The Miss America 2012 pageant went down in Las Vegas last night and 23-year-old Laura Kaeppeler from Wisconsin was crowned this year’s queen.

The brunette beauty from Kenosha, WI survived each round (which included her singing opera, strutting her stuff in a white bikini and walking across the stage in a black beaded gown) to beat out other finalists Miss New York Kaitlyn Monte and Miss Oklahoma Betty Thompson and win the $50,000 prize money.

When Kaeppeler was asked her main question regarding pageant contestants sharing their political views, her vague answer was: “Miss America represents everyone, so I think the message to political candidates is that they represent everyone as well. In these economic times, we need to be looking forward to what America needs, and I think Miss America needs to represent all.”

During her year as Miss America, Kaeppeler’s dedicating her time to a very real cause—mentoring young people whose parents are behind bars. Her decision is influenced by her father Jeff‘s 18 months spent in a federal prison for mail fraud.

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