Mia Love, the first Black Republican woman elected to Congress, who served from 2015 to 2019, died on Sunday at her home in Utah. She was 49.
Her family confirmed the death in a post on one of Ms. Love’s social media pages. She had been diagnosed in 2022 with a glioblastoma, an aggressive type of brain tumor.
Ms. Love’s parents immigrated to the United States from Haiti in the 1970s and settled in Brooklyn, where she was born. Her family later moved to Norwalk, Conn., where she attended high school. After graduating from the University of Hartford, she held a series of jobs, including flight attendant.
She eventually settled in Utah, where she joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Ms. Love began her political career fighting a mosquito problem in Saratoga Springs, Utah. She later became the city’s mayor.
When she was elected to Congress in 2014, she made history as the first Black Republican woman to take on the role. She was viewed as a rising Republican star, and was the sole Republican member of the Congressional Black Caucus during her term, making her an uncommon symbol of bipartisanship in an era of deep division.
She frequently criticized President Trump’s positions, including on immigration, during his first term in office. She did not seek his endorsement during her re-election campaign in 2018 and lost her seat by less than a percentage point to Democratic challenger Ben McAdams.
