Former US Rep. Mia Love, first black republican woman in congress, dies at 49 | World News
Former US Representative Mia Love of Utah, the first Black Republican woman elected to Congress, has passed away at the age of 49 on Sunday.
Her family announced her death in a social media post on her X, according to the Associated Press (AP). Love had been battling brain cancer and had stopped responding to treatment earlier this month, her daughter had previously shared. She had been undergoing immunotherapy as part of a clinical trial at Duke University’s brain tumour centre.
Love’s political journey began in 2003 when she won a seat on the city council in Saratoga Springs, a fast-growing community about 48 kilometres (30 miles) south of Salt Lake City. She later became the city’s mayor before running for Congress.
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In 2012, she narrowly lost to Democratic incumbent Jim Matheson in her first bid for a House seat. Two years later, she ran again and won, defeating first-time candidate Doug Owens about 7,500 votes.
Though Love did not focus on her race during her campaigns, she recognised the significance of her victory in 2014. “My election proved the doubters wrong—people who thought a Black, Republican, Mormon woman couldn’t win in a mostly white state like Utah,” AP quoted her as saying.
During her time in Congress, Love was seen as a rising star in the Republican Party. She danced herself from Donald Trump, who was unpopular among many Utah voters during his 2016 presidential run. After a recording surfaced of Trump making inappropriate comments about women, she chose not to attend the Republican National Convention and stated that she would not vote for him. Instead, she endorsed Texas Senator Ted Cruz, though he later dropped out of the race.
While campaigning for a third term in 2018, Love sought to separate herself from Trump’s views on trade and immigration but still supported the Republican stance on tax cuts. Despite Republicans significantly outnumbering Democrats in her drict, she lost the race to Democrat Ben McAdams fewer than 700 votes.Story continues below this ad
The day after her defeat, Trump criticised her publicly. “Mia Love gave me no love, and she lost,” he said, according to AP. “Too bad. Sorry about that, Mia.”
After leaving Congress, Love worked as a political commentator for CNN and later became a fellow at the University of Sydney. Following Trump’s re-election in November, she commented on social media, saying, “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.”
(with inputs from AP)
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