Former Utah Rep. Mia Love is the first black Republican woman to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives
Salt Lake City (AP) – Former U.S. Rep. Mia Love of Utah, the daughter of a Haitian immigrant, became the first black Republican woman to be elected to Congress, died Sunday.
She is 49 years old.
Love's family posted news of her death on Love's X account.
She recently received brain cancer treatment and received immunotherapy as part of a clinical trial at Duke University’s Brain Oncology Center. Her daughter said earlier this month that the former lawmaker no longer responded to treatment.
Love died at her home in Saratoga Springs, Utah, according to a statement issued by her family.
“A heart of gratitude is full of Mia's profound impact on our lives, and we want you to know that she passed away peacefully,” her family said. “We thank many good wishes, prayers and condolences.”
Utah Governor Spencer Cox calls love “a true friend.”
“Her service legacy inspired everyone who knew her,” Cox said in a statement. “We pray for her family and mourn them.”
Love entered politics in 2003 after winning a seat in the city council in Saratoga Springs, an increasing number of communities around 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Salt Lake City. She later became the mayor of the city.
In 2012, Love barely lost bid for the House of Representatives, former Democratic Representative Jim Matheson, in a region covering the suburbs of Salt Lake City.
Two years later, she ran again and beat first-time candidate Doug Owens with about 7,500 votes.
Love did not emphasize her game during the campaign, but she acknowledged the significance of her election after her 2014 victory. She said her victory opposition to opponents who suggested a black, Republican, Mormon woman could not win a seat in Congress among the vast majority of white people in Utah.
She is briefly considered a rising star in the Republican Party, and she distances herself from Donald Trump, who was not popular with many Utah voters when he ran for president before the 2016 election.
After facing reelection in 2016 and releasing a 2005 recording, Trump commented on the groping women's comments, Love skipped the Republican National Convention and issued a statement saying she would not vote for Trump. Instead, she recognized Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the Republican game, but he quit the game a few months later.
While seeking a third term in 2018, Love tried to separate his Trump from trade and immigration while still supporting partisan tax cuts. Although Republican voters surpassed her area's nearly three to three Democrats, she lost to former Salt Lake City Mayor Ben McAdams, Democrat, but she lost less than 700 votes.
Trump called for love in a press conference on the morning after his failure, where he also slammed other Republicans who did not fully embrace him.
“Mia Love doesn't give me love, she's lost,” Trump said. “That's bad. Sorry for that, Mia.”
After her loss, Love served as a political commentator at CNN and a researcher at the University of Sydney.
After Trump was elected in November, Love said she was “okay for the result.”
“Yes, Trump has said a lot of things that are unfortunate and impossible to defend. But his policies have a good chance of benefiting all Americans,” Love wrote on social media.
