Former Utah Rep. Mia Love, First Black Republican Woman to Win U.S. House Seat, Dies at 49

Mia Love, the first Black Republican woman to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, died Sunday at 49 after a long fight with brain cancer. She had recently ceased responding to treatment. Born to Haitian immigrants, Love became the first member of Congress from Utah, a then-often-overlooked voting bloc, and defied expectations in a largely white, conservative state when she won her congressional seat in 2014.

Love, the former mayor of Saratoga Springs, Utah, had a formidable political life but lost her position in 2018. After her defeat, she remained active as a political commentator and a University of Sydney fellow. Love’s efforts in the Republican Party and ensuring that diverse voices were heard in politics were easily noted, and she left her mark on both her state and in the national political scene.