First Black Republican Congresswoman Mia Love Dies at 49

Former Utah Rep. Mia Love died Sunday at her home of glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer.

In 2014, she made history as the first black Republican woman elected to the House of Representatives and as the first black person elected to Congress from Utah.

Love represented Utah’s 4th Congressional District for two terms from 2015 to 2019. Prior to that, she was mayor of Saratoga Springs, Utah, and a member of its City Council.

Love was 49 and is survived by her husband and three children.

Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., served in Congress with Love for four years.

“I mourn the passing of Mia Love, a friend and former House colleague. Mia’s contributions to our nation and her trailblazing role in Congress are significant. Many were blessed and inspired by her life and faith in the American Dream,” he said.

“Godspeed, Mia. You made a real mark, my friend. See you on the High Ground,” Perry said in a statement to The Daily Signal.

Love was born in Brooklyn, New York, the child of Haitian immigrants to the United States. She studied musical theatre at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School in Connecticut. Love worked in a variety of professions, including as call center manager, fitness instructor, and flight attendant before ending public service.

In an interview with The Salt Lake Tribune in 2012, Love described how her family influenced her political philosophy.

“All of the things my parents were teaching me, it kind of fit,” she explained. Love credited her husband, Jason Love, with leading her to become more politically engaged.

“It started clicking, so even though I knew very early on I was Republican, I started actively getting engaged after I met my husband,” Love said.

After attending several City Council meetings and being frustrated with the leadership’s seeming indifference to the problems in her community, she ran for office herself. After serving on the City Council from 2003 to 2009, she became the first black woman mayor in Utah.

Love ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2012, but was elected two years later to represent Utah’s 4th Congressional District. While in Congress, she served on the House Committee on Financial Services and two of its subcommittees, the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit and the Subcommittee on Monetary Policy and Trade.

Love also was the lone Republican in the Congressional Black Caucus during her tenure. She was reelected handily in 2016 winning the vote 53% to 41%.

Love did not endorse President Donald Trump in 2016, nor did she seek his endorsement in 2018. She did, however, vote for the president’s agenda 95% of the time. She subsequently lost reelection to her Democratic opponent by fewer than 700 votes in 2018.

After leaving Congress, Love became the national outreach director for the Center for Growth and Opportunity at Utah State University, wrote a book, and served as a guest host on TV’s “The View.” She endorsed Trump in 2024.