Matt Canham

In 2014, Mia Love made history by becoming the first black Republican woman elected to Congress, and she accomplished this feat in Utah.
The story of how she did it begins in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, during the reign of “Papa Doc” Duvalier, one of the world’s most reviled dictators. It continues in suburban Connecticut, where she reveled in musical theater. And after her conversion to Mormonism it shifts to Utah, where a political awakening led her first to the city council in Saratoga Springs and then the halls of Congress.
In this political biography, Salt Lake Tribune reporters Matt Canham, Robert Gehrke and Thomas Burr explore the defining moments in her life, illuminated through dozens of interviews with Mia, her family, those closest to her and those critical of her.
She's dynamic, comfortable in the spotlight, and if you're interested in politics, you're likely to see a lot of her in the years to come. But Mia’s political success wasn't preordained.
During her first congressional campaign, she was forced to replace key staff members, spent too much time campaigning for GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, and her polls were flawed. Still, she lost to a well-known Democratic incumbent by three tenths of one percent.
In less than two months, she returned to the campaign trail and marched to victory. She’ll take the oath of office in January 2015, joining a House Republican caucus that wants to increase its appeal to minorities and women. Mia Love says she aims to be front and center in Washington, representing her state and her party, as the next GOP star.