Mia Love facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mia Love
Official portrait, 2015
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Utah's 4th district
In office January 3, 2015 – January 3, 2019
Preceded by	Jim Matheson
Succeeded by	Ben McAdams
Mayor of Saratoga Springs
In office January 8, 2010 – January 8, 2014
Preceded by	Timothy Parker
Succeeded by	Jim Miller
Personal details
Born	Ludmya Bourdeau (1975-12-06)December 6, 1975 New York City, U.S.
Died	March 23, 2025(2025-03-23) (aged 49) Saratoga Springs, Utah, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Jason Love ​ (m. 1998)​
Children	3
Education	University of Hartford (BFA)

Ludmya "Mia" Love (born Ludmya Bourdeau; December 6, 1975 – March 23, 2025) was an American politician and TV commentator. She served as a U.S. representative for Utah's 4th congressional district from 2015 to 2019. She was a member of the Republican Party.

Mia Love made history in several ways. She was the first Haitian American person elected to Congress. She was also the first Black American elected to Congress from Utah. Plus, she was the first Black Republican woman to be elected to Congress.

Love was born in Brooklyn, New York City, to parents from Haiti. She grew up in Connecticut and later graduated from the University of Hartford. Before joining Congress, she was elected mayor of Saratoga Springs, Utah, in 2010. She had also served on the city council there. After leaving Congress in 2019, Love worked as a political commentator for CNN. She passed away on March 23, 2025, from a type of brain cancer called glioblastoma.

Early Life and School Years

Mia Love was born Ludmya Bourdeau on December 6, 1975, in Brooklyn. Her parents, Mary and Jean Maxime Bourdeau, came from Haiti in 1973. They left Haiti because of political problems and came to the United States on a tourist visa. They did not speak English when they arrived.

Love's birth helped her parents get permission to live in the U.S. permanently. This was under a special immigration law that helped parents who had a child born in the United States. Her parents later became U.S. citizens. Her father became a manager at a paint company, and her mother worked as a nurse.

When Love was five, her family moved to Norwalk, Connecticut. She went to Norwalk High School. Her family raised her as a Catholic. After they settled in Norwalk, her parents brought her older brothers and sisters from Haiti to live with them.

Love attended the University of Hartford Hartt School with a scholarship. She earned a degree in musical theatre.

Starting Her Career

After college, Mia Love worked for a few companies. She also worked as a flight attendant for Continental Airlines. In 1998, Love moved to Utah. She started getting involved in her community in Saratoga Springs, Utah. She helped her neighbors convince a developer to spray for flies in their area.

In 2003, Love won a spot on the Saratoga Springs City Council. She was the first female Haitian-American elected official in Utah County. She started her term in January 2004. During a tough economic time, she worked with the city council to cut costs. They reduced the city's money problems significantly.

After serving six years on the council, Love was elected mayor of Saratoga Springs. She served as mayor from January 2010 to January 2014. As mayor, she helped the city deal with natural disasters, like a wildfire and a serious mudslide.

Serving in the U.S. House of Representatives

Running for Office

First Congressional Race (2012)

In 2012, Mia Love decided to run for Congress in Utah's 4th congressional district. This district was new after the 2010 Census. She won the Republican nomination. The current Democratic representative, Jim Matheson, also decided to run in this new district.

Love in 2011

Love received support from important Republican leaders. These included Mitt Romney, who was running for president, and Paul Ryan, who was running for vice president. She also spoke at the 2012 Republican National Convention. There, she talked about what she learned from her parents, who came from Haiti.

Love lost the election to Jim Matheson by a very small number of votes.

Winning in 2014

In May 2013, Love announced she would run for Congress again in 2014. Many people thought she had a good chance to win this time. In early 2014, she became part of a Republican committee focused on reaching out to African-American voters.

Mia Love at the 2013 CPAC in Washington D.C.

On April 26, 2014, Love won the Republican nomination. Her main opponent was Doug Owens, a Democrat. On Election Day, Love won by more than 7,000 votes. After her victory, she joked that many people thought Utah would never elect a Black, Republican, (Latter-day Saint) woman to Congress, but they did it first!

Re-election and Later Race (2016 and 2018)

Love ran for re-election in 2016 and won again, defeating Doug Owens.

In 2018, Love was challenged by Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams, a Democrat. This election was very close. For two weeks after the election, it was unclear who had won. Finally, on November 20, 2018, Ben McAdams was declared the winner. He defeated Love by only 694 votes.

After her defeat, President Donald Trump made a comment about her. In her speech, Love responded to Trump. She said that he and other Republicans had not done enough to connect with minority voters.

Time in Congress

Mia Love speaking at the 2015 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland, on February 26, 2015

When she started in Congress in 2015, Mia Love was appointed to the House Financial Services Committee. This committee deals with money and banking issues.

Love also joined the Congressional Black Caucus. This group is made up mostly of Democratic members of Congress who are Black. Love had previously said she wanted to join the group to try to change it from the inside. She later said that working with her colleagues in the caucus helped her work across different political views on important topics like criminal justice reform.

In May 2015, Love helped introduce a bill called the Student Right to Know Before You Go Act. This bill aimed to make sure colleges give more information to students before they enroll. In April 2016, Love's first bill passed the U.S. House. This bill, HR3791, aimed to help community banks grow, which she believed would make more money available for loans.

Love also supported creating federal laws against pyramid schemes.

Love also worked on immigration issues. She supported a bill that would help young undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children to stay in the country permanently. She also spoke out against the Trump administration's policy of separating children from their parents at the border.

After Congress

After leaving Congress, Mia Love became a contributor for CNN, sharing her political opinions. She also worked as a senior fellow at The United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney in Australia. In 2020, she became a fellow at Georgetown University's Institute of Politics and Public Service.

In the 2020 United States presidential election, Love served as an elector for Utah. In June 2021, she joined the Center for Growth and Opportunity at Utah State University. In August 2021, Love joined the TV show The View as a guest host. In January 2023, she published a book about her life called Qualified: Finding Your Voice, Leading with Character, and Empowering Others.

Political Views

Love speaking at the 2017 March for Life in Washington, D.C.

Mia Love supported getting rid of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). She also wanted to reduce government help for healthcare and put limits on spending for Medicaid.

In 2012, Love said she would focus on stopping federal rules, especially those from the Environmental Protection Agency. She supported building the Keystone XL pipeline. By 2017, she joined the Climate Solutions Caucus, a group that believes environmental policies and economic growth can work together. Love also supported Utah's efforts to get control of public land from the federal government.

Money and Budget Ideas

In her 2012 campaign, Love suggested cutting government spending on things like free school lunches and food help for pregnant mothers and people in need. She believed the best way to help people was to help them find work, rather than rely on government support.

Love proposed a plan to cut federal spending by a large amount. This plan focused on reducing money for programs like special education funding, subsidized school loans, and healthcare help. She called these cuts "nasty-tasting medicine" that the country needed.

Love believed that the federal government should have less power. She was seen as a conservative who supported the Tea Party movement. She also supported tax cuts and reducing money sent to other countries. Love promoted the ideas of the Cato Institute, a group that supports limited government.

Guns and Immigration

For the 2016 election, Mia Love received donations from groups that support gun rights. Love said she would support raising the age to buy certain types of rifles to 21. She also supported banning "bump stocks" and making background checks stronger for gun purchases.

Love supported changes to immigration laws. She co-sponsored a bill that would help young immigrants who came to the U.S. as children to stay permanently. In 2018, she joined Democrats in trying to get immigration bills voted on in the House. She also spoke out against the separation of children from their parents at the U.S. border.

Relationship with Donald Trump

In October 2016, after a video of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump making inappropriate comments about women was released, Love publicly stated she would not vote for him. She also asked Trump to leave the presidential race.

However, during her time in Congress, Love's votes often matched Trump's positions. In early 2018, Love joined other Utah leaders in opposing President Trump's proposed taxes on steel and aluminum. After her defeat in 2018, Love said that Trump and other Republicans had not done enough for minority voters. Love later supported Trump in the 2024 United States presidential election.

Personal Life

Mia Love was raised Catholic. She joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1998 after graduating from college. She moved to Utah that year as part of her job as a flight attendant. She also wanted to strengthen her faith and be closer to a temple.

In Utah, Love started dating Jason Love, whom she had met before when he was a missionary in Connecticut. Mia and Jason Love married in December 1998. They had three children together. When Love was elected to Congress, her husband Jason stayed in Utah with their children, who continued to go to school there. Love used video calls and often traveled back to Utah to stay connected with her family.

Death

In February 2022, Mia Love was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer. Doctors thought she might have ten to fifteen months to live. She had surgery that removed most of the tumor. By August 2023, she was part of a special medical study, and the tumor was shrinking.

On March 1, 2025, Love's daughter announced that the treatments were no longer working. The family decided to focus on enjoying their remaining time with her. Mia Love passed away at her home on March 23, 2025, at age 49. Her memorial service was held on April 7, 2025, in Salt Lake City.

Electoral History

See also

In Spanish: Mia Love para niños

• List of African-American United States representatives
• List of United States representatives from Utah
• Politics of Utah
• United States House of Representatives
• Women in the United States House of Representatives