Ashlyn Mercier, a police officer from Westborough, Massachusetts, is competing in the Miss America final on 6 September at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, making her the first serving police officer to hold the Miss Massachusetts title. She says her aim is to challenge assumptions about what a female police officer should look like and to show young girls they need not choose between career ambitions, at a time when women make up only around 14% of US law enforcement officers.

Mercier took a year out from pageant competition in 2025 to attend the police academy, following her father into the profession, before returning to pursue the Miss Massachusetts and now Miss America titles. She is competing alongside delegates representing all 50 states, Washington DC and Puerto Rico, and says her department colleagues have backed her fundraising and preparations. Through the competition she is promoting "Nick's Courage: One Smile Goes a Mile", a cause named after her brother, a two-time childhood cancer survivor, aimed at supporting children with serious illnesses.