Could a candidate for office effectively represent a place whose culture she does not like? That is a very real question this election cycle.

As a former Miss America, Mallory Hagan, the Democratic nominee for Alabama’s third congressional district, has generated a lot of media attention this election cycle. Hagan, however, admits she has not always thought highly of Alabama.

Hagan originally hails from Opelika. At age 19, after a year at Auburn University, Hagan left Alabama for New York City. Earlier this year, at a televised debate against her then-Democratic primary opponent Adia Winfrey, Hagan explained her decision to leave Alabama, saying she left because she “didn’t like the culture of Alabama.”

“My family story here in Alabama is many of the families here in Alabama – it’s their story, too,” she said. “And at 19, I moved away from here because, like many of the kids at our colleges and universities, I didn’t like the culture of Alabama. And many of them here today that I’ve listened to say just that – there’s no chance they’re going to stay in this state if we don’t change the culture.”

Hagan apparently still has a low regard for the state of Alabama. In a July 9 Twitter post, she referred to the state as “at the bottom of the barrel,” highlighting a back-and-forth she was having with Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill.

I keep saying #alabama is at the bottom of the barrel and it looks like we can add “in adult behavior” to that growing list- grow up @JohnHMerrill.

In the meantime, you guys can help elect true candidates into office by donating to https://t.co/2PWKEg7Zn8 and voting @MilamForAL https://t.co/hcvgooezbe

— Mallory Hagan (@HaganforHouse) July 10, 2018

When Hagan left Alabama a decade ago, she moved to New York City’s Brooklyn borough, where she would eventually become Miss New York, and qualify for the 2013 Miss America competition.

Following her Miss America victory, Hagan proclaimed herself a New Yorker.

“I’ve lived in like six different Brooklyn neighborhoods, so I definitely consider myself a New Yorker,” said Hagan in a 2013 interview. “I’m as New York as they come. I’m just wrapped in a more delicate Southern charm.”

In another media report, Hagan said she was seeking to “lay down roots in New York.”

“No matter what happened, I was going to come back to New York,” Hagan said according to the New York Post in a January 15, 2013 article.

Despite having such convictions about her status as a New Yorker, Hagan ultimately returned to Alabama and now hopes to unseat incumbent Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Saks), whom she faces on November 6.

@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and is the editor of Breitbart TV.