Former US Rep. Mia Love of Utah, a daughter of Haitian immigrants who turned the primary Black Republican lady elected to Congress, died Sunday.
She was 49.
Love’s household posted information of her loss of life on Love’s X account.
She had undergone latest therapy for mind most cancers and acquired immunotherapy as a part of a scientific trial at Duke College’s mind tumor middle. Her daughter stated earlier this month that the previous lawmaker was not responding to therapy.
Love died at her house in Saratoga Springs, Utah, in accordance with a press release posted by the household.
“With grateful hearts filled to overflowing for the profound influence of Mia on our lives, we want you to know that she passed away peacefully,” her household stated. “We are thankful for the many good wishes, prayers and condolences.”
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox referred to Love as a “true friend” and stated her legacy of service impressed all who knew her.
Love entered politics in 2003 after successful a seat on town council in Saratoga Springs, a rising group about 30 miles south of Salt Lake Metropolis. She later turned town’s mayor.
In 2012, Love narrowly misplaced a bid for the Home towards the Democratic incumbent, former Rep. Jim Matheson, in a district that covers a string of Salt Lake Metropolis suburbs. She ran once more two years later and defeated first-time candidate Doug Owens by about 7,500 votes.
Love didn’t emphasize her race throughout her campaigns, however she acknowledged the importance of her election after her 2014 victory. She stated her win defied naysayers who had recommended {that a} Black, Republican, Mormon lady couldn’t win a congressional seat in overwhelmingly white Utah.
She was briefly thought of a rising star inside the GOP and he or she saved her distance from Donald Trump, who was unpopular with many Utah voters, whereas he was operating for president forward of the 2016 election.
In an op-ed printed earlier this month within the Deseret Information, Love described the model of America she grew up loving and shared her enduring want for the nation to grow to be much less divisive. She thanked her medical staff and each one who had prayed for her.
Love stated her mother and father immigrated to the US with $10 of their pocket and a perception that onerous work would result in success. She stated she was raised to consider passionately within the American dream and “to love this country, warts and all.” America at its roots is respectful, resilient, giving and grounded in gritty dedication, she stated.
Her profession in politics uncovered Like to America’s ugly aspect, however she stated it additionally gave her a entrance row seat to be impressed by individuals’s hope and braveness. She shared her want for neighbors to come back collectively and deal with their similarities moderately than their variations.
“Some have forgotten the math of America — whenever you divide you diminish,” Love wrote.
She urged elected officers to guide with compassion and talk actually with their constituents.
“In the end, I hope that my life will have mattered and made a difference for the nation I love and the family and friends I adore,” Love wrote. “I hope you will see the America I know in the years ahead, that you will hear my words in the whisper of the wind of freedom and feel my presence in the flame of the enduring principles of liberty. My living wish and fervent prayer for you and for this nation is that the America I have known is the America you fight to preserve.”
In 2016, dealing with reelection and following the discharge of a 2005 recording during which Trump made lewd feedback about groping girls, Love skipped the Republican Nationwide Conference and launched a press release saying definitively that she wouldn’t vote for Trump. She as a substitute endorsed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz within the GOP race, however he dropped out months later.
Whereas in search of a 3rd time period in 2018, Love tried to separate herself Trump on commerce and immigration whereas nonetheless backing her celebration’s positions on tax cuts. Regardless of Republican voters outnumbering Democrats by an almost three-to-one margin in her district, although, she misplaced by fewer than 700 votes to former Salt Lake Metropolis Mayor Ben McAdams, a Democrat.
Trump known as out Love by title in a information convention the morning after she misplaced, the place he additionally bashed different Republicans who didn’t absolutely embrace him.
“Mia Love gave me no love, and she lost,” Trump stated. “Too bad. Sorry about that, Mia.”
After her loss, Love served as a political commentator on CNN and as a fellow on the College of Sydney.
Following Trump’s election in November, Love stated she was “OK with the outcome.”
“Yes, Trump says a lot of inconsiderate things that are unfortunate and impossible to defend. However, his policies have a high probability of benefiting all Americans,” Love wrote in a social media publish.
