Former U.S. Representative Mia Love of Utah, the first Black Republican woman elected to Congress and the daughter of Haitian immigrants, passed away on Sunday at the age of 49.
Her family shared the news of her death through Love’s X account.
Love had recently been undergoing treatment for brain cancer, including immunotherapy as part of a clinical trial at Duke University’s brain tumor center. Earlier this month, her daughter had mentioned that Love was no longer responding to the treatment.
She died peacefully at her home in Saratoga Springs, Utah, according to a statement from her family.
“With hearts full of gratitude for the profound impact Mia had on our lives, we want to let you know she passed away peacefully,” the family said. “We are thankful for all the prayers, good wishes, and condolences.”
Utah Governor Spencer Cox remembered Love as a “true friend” and emphasized that her legacy of service continues to inspire all who knew her.
Mia Love began her political career in 2003 when she won a seat on the Saratoga Springs City Council, a rapidly growing community located about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Salt Lake City. She later went on to serve as the city’s mayor.
In 2012, Mia Love narrowly lost a bid for a House seat to Democratic incumbent Jim Matheson in a district covering several suburbs of Salt Lake City. She ran again two years later and won, defeating first-time candidate Doug Owens by roughly 7,500 votes.
Although Love didn’t focus on her race during her campaigns, she recognized the significance of her 2014 victory. She noted that her win disproved critics who believed that a Black, Republican, Mormon woman couldn’t secure a congressional seat in predominantly white Utah.
At one point, Love was seen as a rising star within the GOP. During the 2016 presidential race, she distanced herself from Donald Trump, who was unpopular with many Utah voters at the time.
In an op-ed published earlier this month in Deseret News, Mia Love reflected on the version of America she grew up admiring and expressed her hope for a less divided nation. She also took the opportunity to thank her medical team and everyone who had prayed for her.
Love shared that her parents immigrated to the U.S. with just $10 and a strong belief that hard work would lead to success. She was raised to have a deep belief in the American Dream and to love the country “warts and all.” She described America as a nation rooted in respect, resilience, generosity, and determination.
While her political career exposed her to some of America’s darker aspects, Love said it also allowed her to witness the hope and courage of many people. She expressed her desire for people to focus on their commonalities rather than their differences.
“Some have forgotten the math of America — whenever you divide you diminish,” Love wrote.
She urged elected leaders to lead with compassion and communicate honestly with their constituents.
“Ultimately, I hope my life will have made a difference for the country I love and the family and friends I cherish,” 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, as she faced reelection and in the wake of the release of a 2005 recording where Trump made inappropriate comments about groping women, Mia Love chose to skip the Republican National Convention. She issued a statement stating clearly that she would not vote for Trump and instead endorsed Texas Senator Ted Cruz in the GOP race. However, Cruz dropped out of the race a few months later.
When running for a third term in 2018, Love tried to distance herself from Trump, particularly on issues like trade and immigration, while still supporting her party’s stance on tax cuts. Despite her district having a nearly three-to-one Republican voter advantage, Love lost by fewer than 700 votes to Democrat Ben McAdams, the former mayor of Salt Lake City.
After Mia Love lost her reelection bid, Donald Trump mentioned her by name during a news conference the following morning, criticizing Republicans who didn’t fully support him.
“Mia Love gave me no love, and she lost,” Trump said. “Too bad. Sorry about that, Mia.”
Following her defeat, Love worked as a political commentator on CNN and served as a fellow at the University of Sydney.
After Trump’s election in November, Love expressed that she was “OK with the outcome.”
“Yes, Trump says a lot of inconsiderate things that are unfortunate and impossible to defend,” Love wrote in a social media post. “However, his policies have a high probability of benefiting all Americans.”