The first black Republican woman to be elected to Congress has passed away after battling aggressive brain cancer for three years.
Mia Love, a 49-year-old former Utah representative, died in her Saratoga Springs home on Sunday, her family announced on her X account.
Their heartbreaking statement reads: ‘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.
‘We are thankful for the many good wishes, prayers and condolences.’
Utah Governor Spencer Cox referred to Love as a ‘dear friend’ in a statement addressing her devastating death.
Cox wrote on X: ‘A true trailblazer and visionary leader, Mia inspired countless Utahns through her courage, grace, and unwavering belief in the American dream.
‘Her legacy leaves a lasting, positive impact on our state. We will miss her deeply.’
Love publicly came forward about her glioblastoma – a type of brain tumor – in May 2024 with CNN’s Jake Tapper, but she was diagnosed in 2022.
Mia Love, the first black Republican woman to be elected to Congress , died in her Saratoga Springs, Utah home on Sunday (pictured: Love at the Republican National Convention in 2012)
Love, pictured hugging her father Jean Maxime Bourdeau after she won her House seat in 2014, beat Democratic candidate Doug Owens by about 7,500 votes
Mia Love, 49, was diagnosed with a glioblastoma, an aggressive brain tumor in 2022. after rigorous treatment proved ineffective, the politician shifted her focus to ‘enjoying every moment’
The politician had undergone rigorous treatment for brain cancer and received immunotherapy as part of a clinical trial at Duke University´s brain tumor center.
But she was no longer responding to treatment, her daughter Abigale revealed earlier this month.
‘Hello Friends, I’m Mia’s daughter Abigale. Many of you are aware that Mom has been fighting GBM brain cancer,’ Abigale’s post began.
‘Sadly her cancer is no longer responding to treatment and the cancer is progressing. We have a shifted our focus from treatment to enjoying our remaining time with her. I am building an archive of special memories with Mia.’
Love, a Mormon mother-of-three, then wrote a letter describing how she would be living out her final days.
‘I am taking up my pen, not to say goodbye but to say thank you and express my living wish for you and the America I know,’ Love started the note published by Deseret News.
Her message detailed her latest health updates, noting that she has shifted her focus from trying to combat the cancer to ‘enjoying every moment and making memories with the time we have.’
Love (pictured with her daughter Abigale, left, and sister Cyndi Brito, right) will be remembered as a ‘trailblazer and a visionary leader’
Love, 49, (pictured with her family) announced she was battling brain cancer in May 2024
‘My life has been extended by exceptional medical care, science and extraordinary professionals who have become dear friends,’ she wrote.
‘My extra season of life has also been the result of the faith and prayers of countless friends, known and unknown.’
She also reflected on her long political journey and how her upbringing influenced her strong character.
Love, the daughter of Haitian immigrants, entered politics in 2003 after earning a seat on the city council in Saratoga Springs, a community about 30 miles south of Salt Lake City. In 2010, she become the mayor of Saratoga Springs.
In 2012, she narrowly lost a House bid against the Democratic incumbent, former Representative Jim Matheson, in a district that covers a string of Salt Lake City suburbs.
With unwavering determination, she ran again two years later and defeated first-time Democratic candidate Doug Owens by about 7,500 votes.
After her 2014 victory, she said her win defied naysayers who said a black, Republican, Mormon woman could not win a congressional seat in overwhelmingly white Utah.
She was briefly considered a rising star within the GOP and notably distanced herself from President Donald Trump.
Love was re-elected in 2016, but lost her third-term seat by less than 700 votes to former Salt Lake City Mayor Ben McAdams, a Democrat in 2018.
The former Utah Congresswoman made history as the first black Republican woman to be elected to congress (pictured: Love at the Utah County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner in 2018)
Mother-of-three Love, 49, (pictured with her family) announced that she was living out her final days as she penned an open letter to her country
Trump called out Love by name in a news conference the morning after she lost, where he also bashed other Republicans who did not fully embrace him.
‘Mia Love gave me no love, and she lost,’ Trump said. ‘Too bad. Sorry about that, Mia.’
After her loss, Love served as a political commentator on CNN and as a fellow at the University of Sydney.
Following Trump´s election in November, Love said she was ‘OK with the outcome.’
‘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,’ Love wrote in a social media post.
