Has There Been A Miss 52 USA Before?

Wait. What? During the 2016 Miss USA pageant it was announced that there are 52 women competing for the Miss USA title, and I am more than a little thrown off. I figured there would be 51 competitors to include all the U.S. states and D.C., so where'd 52 come from? I don't remember this from watching last year. Was I just not paying attention or has the Miss USA pageant had a Miss 52 USA before?

Miss 52 USA is a new concept that involved fans voting on social media to select an additional contestant for the pageant. Alexandra Miller will serve as the first Miss 52 in the pageant's history.

Miss 52 USA was actually the runner-up in the Miss Oklahoma USA pageant. The winner from the Miss Oklahoma pageant, Olivia Jordan ended up winning the Miss USA title which meant that she had to give up her state title and that Miller got bumped up to serve as Miss Oklahoma USA. My initial thought is that it is great how that worked out since both women had the the opportunity to have the Miss Oklahoma USA title at some point, but it actually ended up being detrimental to Miller since it meant that she was unable to compete in Miss USA since she already had her state title.

In case that sounds super confusing, Alexandra Miller explained how it all went down in an interview with People :

I was [current Miss USA] Olivia Jordan's first runner-up when she won the title of Miss Oklahoma USA, and she actually won Miss USA on my 26th birthday, which meant I had to decide if I wanted to compete my last year or take over her title.

This means that Oklahoma will have its current Miss Oklahoma USA on stage to represent the state and Alexandra Miller.

This means that Miss 52 USA can be a great way for pageant participants in the future to get a similar shot at a second chance at the main title. Plus, it could ensure that the best of the best get to enter the contest since it is possible for the top two contestants to actually be from the same state. This makes the competition more exciting for the judges and fans on top of giving another shot to other women who are involved in the pageant world.