Mia Love, a former U.S. representative from Utah and the first Black female Republican in Congress, has died after a yearslong battle with cancer. She was 49 years old.
Her family announced the news on March 23, the day of her passing, with a statement on her social media accounts.
“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,” they wrote.
“We are thankful for the many good wishes, prayers and condolences.”
Love Family: 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 today. She was in her home surrounded by family. In the midst of a celebration of her life and an avalanche of happy… pic.twitter.com/YzhAuH1l9x
— Mia Love (@MiaBLove) March 24, 2025
Born Ludmya Bourdeau in New York to Haitian immigrants fleeing political violence, she was raised Catholic in Brooklyn and Connecticut. After graduating with a degree in music theatre from the University of Hartford, she worked in the technology industry and as a flight attendant.
She met her future husband Jason Love, an East Coast missionary with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in 1998. She quickly moved to Utah and married him four months after their first date.
Settling in Saratoga Springs, Love became active in local politics following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, entrenching herself within a growing U.S. conservative movement. A stay-at-home mother, she was soon encouraged to run for her local city council, winning a seat in 2003 in her late 20s.
After fighting for local policies in favor of public information, a library, and city parks—as well as a ban on businesses connected to sex work—Love ascended to regional prominence as one of few Black residents in her area of Utah. She was also noted for her bipartisan openness, telling The Salt Lake Tribune she, a Republican, nearly voted for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, seeing his nomination as a positive sign for America.
Love became the first Black mayor in Utah when she was elected to lead Saratoga Springs in 2010, guiding the city through a series of natural disasters and the waning effects of the Great Recession. Developing a national platform, she later ran for Congress in Utah’s new 4th congressional district in 2012, winning the GOP nomination but losing in a narrow general election to Democrat Jim Matheson.
Love again won the Republican nomination for the seat in 2014, defeating Democrat Doug Owens after Matheson declined to seek re-election. She was the first Haitian American in Congress and the first Black congressperson from Utah. She won re-election in 2016.
Seen in Washington as a moderate Tea Party conservative, Love was one of few Republicans in history to be admitted to the Congressional Black Caucus, a predominantly Democratic group. She supported small government, anti-abortion initiatives, and a balanced budget while breaking from the GOP on gun control and immigration.
Her early opposition to the ascension of Donald Trump also distinguished her from many of her colleagues on the right, including her decision to no longer support his 2016 campaign following the release of the Access Hollywood tapes that October. She was defeated by Democrat Ben McAdams in her 2018 re-election campaign, with Trump taking credit for her loss.
After leaving office, Love became a trusted conservative voice in mainstream media, working for CNN and “The View” while serving as a senior fellow at the University of Sydney. In 2020, she took a similar position at the Institute for Politics and Public Service at Georgetown University.
Love remained a Republican after leaving Washington, serving as an elector for Utah in the 2020 presidential election and publishing a 2023 memoir, “Qualified,” that describes her ascent to political stardom as a Black member of the GOP.
In November 2024, Love spoke positively of Trump’s second presidential victory, praising his policies while noting his often indefensible rhetoric.
In her final years, Love battled an aggressive form of brain cancer (glioblastoma), having been diagnosed in 2022 and given roughly a year to live. A surgery removed most of the tumor, which responded to treatment for several years. This March, however, Love’s family announced that she was near death and would transition to palliative care.
In a final public statement, Love emphasized the importance of prudent action aligned with one’s ultimate purpose in life.
“I am so thankful for my parents, especially my dad, who helped me gain confidence in myself by helping me know what he saw in me,” she wrote on social media.
“I am counting on each of you and all of you to find your voice, raise it, live with character, and lead the next generation.”
Love is survived by her husband, Jason; daughters, Alessa and Abigale, and son, Peyton; granddaughter, Mera Archibald; parents, Jean Maxime and Marie Bourdeau; and her siblings, Jean Mark and Cynthia.
Love will lie in state at the Utah State Capitol rotunda in Salt Lake City on Sunday, April 6, from 5:30 to 8:30pm MT. A funeral service will take place Monday at the Institute of Religion on the University of Utah campus at 10am. Both events are open to the public.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to either the Robert Preston Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke University Hospital or the Huntsman Cancer Institute.
Nate Tinner-Williams is co-founder and editor of Black Catholic Messenger.
