Mia Love, first Black Republican woman elected to Congress, has died at age 49

Niels Lesniewski, CQ-Roll Call on Mar 24, 2025

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WASHINGTON — Former Rep. Mia Love of Utah, the first Black Republican woman elected to Congress, died Sunday at age 49.

“She was in her home surrounded by family,” family members announced in a social media post. ”In the midst of a celebration of her life and an avalanche of happy memories, Mia quietly slipped the bands of mortality and, as her words and vision always did, soared heavenward. We are thankful for the many good wishes, prayers and condolences.”

Love was diagnosed in 2022 with glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer. She and her family had recently announced that the cancer was no longer responding to treatment. Her death came less than two weeks after she published a farewell message in the Deseret News.

Love couched her message as a “living wish” rather than a goodbye or a dying declaration, not knowing for sure how long she would live.

“Some have forgotten the math of America — whenever you divide you diminish. What I know is that the goodness and compassion of the American people is a multiplier that simply cannot be measured,” Love wrote. “The goodness and greatness of our country is multiplied when neighbors help neighbors, when we reach out to those in need and build better citizens and more heroic communities.”

Former Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, was among those who expressed condolences.

“Heavy heart with the passing of my friend and colleague, Mia Love. 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,” Romney posted on X. “We will dearly miss you, Mia.”

Love, a mother of three, first emerged nationally at the Republican National Convention in 2012, where Romney won the party’s nomination for president. She ran for Congress that year, narrowly losing to Democratic Rep. Jim Matheson. When Matheson retired two years later, Love won the hotly contested open seat.

Ben McAdams, a Democrat, defeated Love in 2018.

Love was a former flight attendant and manager of a call center who became a city councilwoman at age 28 and mayor of Saratoga Springs, Utah, at 34.

Originally from Brooklyn, N.Y., Love pursued acting on Broadway and graduated from the University of Hartford in Connecticut with a BFA in musical theater in 1997. That was all before she converted to the Mormon faith and moved to Utah.

Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, gave a tribute to Love in a floor speech before her death.

“Being a Black woman in the Republican Party comes with its own set of hurdles, but Mia has never let barriers define her. Instead, she breaks them,” Curtis said on March 5.