Mia Love First Black Republican Woman Elected to Congress Utah November 2014
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Utah ' s Mia Love Says Race Not a Factor in Her History Making Election
Mia Love narrowly defeated Democrat Doug Owens to become the first Black Republican woman elected to Congress .
BY : STEPHEN A . CROCKETT JR . Guest Columnist
(. Jn Tuesday , November 4 , 2014 , Utah Republican Mia Love made history by becoming the first
Black Republican woman elected to Congress after narrowly defeating Democrat Doug Owens 50 percent to 47 percent in a House race .
" This is a great night for our nation . It is especially a great night for Utah ," Love told supporters shortly after her victory was decided . " Many of the naysayers out there said that Utah would never elect a Black , Republican , LOS woman to Congress . And guess what ? Not only did we do it , we were the first to do it ," reports the Wall Street Journal .
According to the Journal , Love , who lost her first attempt to gain a seat in the House of Representatives in 2012 , losing to Democratic Rep . Jim Matheson , is a Haitian American who converted to Mormonism . The former mayor of Saratoga Springs , Utah , burst onto the national scene after her speech at the 2012 Republican National Convention , where she was anointed the next big star by GOP brass .
Love told @ This Hour on CNN that her victory should not be attributed to her skin color or gender : " This had nothing to do with race . Understand that Utahans have made a statement that they are not interested in dividing Americans based on race or gender , that they want to make sure that they are electing people who are honest , who have integrity , who can go out and represent the values that they hold dear , and that is really what made history here ," Love said . " It ' s that race , gender had nothing to do with it . Principles had everything to do with it , and Utah values had everything to do with it ."