As the mayor of Saratoga Springs, Utah, Mia Love is an anomaly, though she’d be an anomaly in New York City as well. She’s a woman, she’s Black, she’s conservative and she’s a Mormon.
Love is challenging Democrat Jim Matheson for the 4th Congressional District seat that was created as a result of redistricting. While many may not know Love, her profile has increased steadily after a few profile pieces by cable news outlets.
Love, the product of Haitian immigrants, was born in Brooklyn and lived in Connecticut. She graduated from the University of Hartford with a degree in fine arts and eventually found her way to the Mormon faith.
During a profile by MSNBC, when asked if she focuses on her race, Love said, “I don’t because it doesn’t define who I am.” Love’s Mormon faith dictates her belief system, and that dictates her politics. She’s against same-sex marriage and would vote to decrease the size of social programs meant to combat poverty. Love told MSNBC that she’d also “cut spending, simplify the tax code” and overhaul Medicare and Social Security.
She’s also against President Barack Obama’s health care reform.
“Regardless of your party affiliation, President Obama’s health care law is bad policy for our country and for our future,” Love said in a statement. “It imposes one of the largest tax increases in our nation’s history, which will be largely borne by working, middle-class Americans. Obamacare puts us on a road to unaffordable, unsustainable, government-managed, one-size-fits-all health care.”
Love has also spoken out in favor of voter ID laws and criticized Attorney General Eric Holder for fighting against them. In an interview with the conservative website Red Alert Politics, Love said, “I would think that Eric Holder would change his mind after somebody just walked in [to vote] and said that they were Eric Holder.”
But in her race against Matheson, a poll has Love down by 18 percentage points. Many political commentators have pointed to Love’s lack of name recognition, coupled with Matheson’s 65 percent approval rating, as the reason for the lead. But with interviews on CNN and MSNBC, Love’s profile is steadily increasing.
It’s a race to watch in 2012.