Who wins the Miss Pawnee pageant in Beauty Pageant?

Trish Ianetta wins the Miss Pawnee pageant in “Beauty Pageant.” Although Leslie Knope prefers Susan, a capable student and children’s hospital volunteer, the other judges favor Trish’s conventional attractiveness and ultimately choose her.

Leslie serves as a judge and takes the competition unusually seriously. She believes the winner should represent dignity, intelligence, and grace, while Tom Haverford is openly impressed by Trish’s appearance. Trish’s answers are shallow and include an objection to immigrants, but the judging panel still settles on her after deliberation.

April Ludgate enters mainly to pursue the $600 prize, only to quit when she learns the reward consists of fence-company gift certificates. After Trish wins, Leslie delivers a speech praising the “Susans” of the world, even though they have lost to the “Trishes.” The episode satirizes beauty-pageant judging and draws comparisons to real contests, including the 2007 Miss South Carolina Teen USA controversy. It originally aired on October 1, 2009.