Mia Love, First Black Republican Congresswoman, Dies At 49

Former US congresswoman Mia Love, a political trailblazer who became the first Black Republican woman in Congress, died on Sunday at age 49.

Mrs. Love's family announced her death in a statement on social media but did not cite a cause.

"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. She was in her home surrounded by family,” her family said.

Mrs. Love had been battling glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer, and her daughter Abigalesaid in early March that Mrs. Love's cancer was progressing and no longer responding to treatment.

Mrs. Love represented Utah's 4th Congressional District in the House from 2015 to 2019. She was the New York-born daughter of Haitian immigrants. Mrs. Love's victory in a conservative, majority-White state - following a well-received speech at the 2012 Republican National Convention - was hailed as a watershed moment for the GOP and a chance for the party to gain ground with voters of color.

Mrs. Love did not endorse Donald Trump for president in 2016, although she remained committed to Republican priorities. When she narrowly lost reelection in 2018 to Democrat Ben McAdams, Trump quipped that "gave me no love, and she lost.” Mrs. Love later said Trump's comments "gave me a clear vision of his world as it is: No real relationships, just convenient transactions.”

In 2018, Mrs. Love wrote in an Opinion column in The Washington Post that the Republican Party had to work harder to connect with women and racial minorities, and said the GOP "must invite, not just tolerate, diverse perspectives to the table and ensure that their voices matter.”

Speaking about her experience as the daughter of Haitian immigrants, Mrs. Love wrote that she "never understood why I had to fight so hard to make my perspective heard on immigration” in Congress and said she had "often been the target of insults from those who struggle to reconcile what they thought I should be with who I actually am.”

In an interview that aired in May, Mrs. Love told CNN's Jake Tapper that she had been diagnosed with glioblastoma and was receiving immunotherapy treatment as part of a clinical trial at Duke University.

Glioblastoma affects more than 14,000 Americans per year, according to the National Brain Tumor Society. It attacks the brain, affecting patients' cognitive skills and motor functions, and has a five-year survival rate of less than 7 percent. High-profile individuals who have died of the disease include Sen. Edward "Ted” Kennedy (D-Massachusetts); US Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona); Beau Biden, the son of former president Joe Biden; and Cecile Richards, the former president of Planned Parenthood.

Mrs. Love told Tapper she was leaning on science and her faith as a Mormon, and she advised anyone struggling with a major challenge not to "underestimate the power of a positive attitude.” In a March 12 letter published in the Deseret News, Mrs. Love said that her "battle with brain cancer is coming to an end” and that she and her family had "shifted our focus from treatments, to enjoying every moment and making memories with the time we have.”

Mrs. Love was born Ludmya Bourdeau on Dec. 6, 1975 in Brooklyn, to parents who fled the regime of Haitian dictator François Duvalier, according to her House biography. "Through hard work and great sacrifice they achieved success - so the America I came to know growing up was filled with all the excitement found in living the American dream,” Mrs. Love wrote of her parents in the March 12 letter.

The Bourdeau family moved to Connecticut in 1981. While attending the University of Hartford in West Hartford, she converted from Catholicism to Mormonism and met Jason Love, who was then serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They married and moved to Utah in 1998. The couple had three children: Alessa, Abigale and Peyton.

Before her political career, Mrs. Love worked as a flight attendant and call-center operator, according to her House biography. She ran for city council in Saratoga Springs, a Utah town of 18,000 in 2003 and was elected its mayor in 2009. She has said that she decided to enter politics when the Supreme Court was considering a case to remove the words "under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance.

Mrs. Love built her campaign for congress in Utah on a platform of public safety and fiscal responsibility, touting her ability to balance Saratoga Springs' budget in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. She espoused small government and personal responsibility, saying that "government is not your salvation” and stating that her father told her he "never took a handout” and advised her not to be a "burden on to society.”

She also did not shy away from the provocative, pledging to join the Congressional Black Caucus to take it apart "from the inside out.”Once elected, she became the only Republican member of the caucus, and later praised its members and bipartisan work. In 2018, she told BuzzFeed News: "If my leadership asked me to go after a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, I won't do it.”

Earlier this month, the Utah Legislature officiallyhonored Mrs. Love for her "extraordinary contributions to public service, her groundbreaking role in American politics and her lasting legacy of leadership, dedication and perseverance in service to Utah and the nation,” as she watched remotely.

Tributes to Mrs. Love poured in Sunday after her family announced her death. "Mia Love was an outstanding public servant and a dear friend,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) tweeted.

"Her passing leaves a deep, painful void.” Former senator Mitt Romney (R-Utah), a fellow Mormon, wrote: "Her energy, enthusiasm and wit made her a stand-out member of Congress. Her faith and fortitude made her a model for me and for countless others.”

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