Mia Love, the former mayor of Saratoga Spring, Utah, won her race for Utah’s 4th congressional district Tuesday.
Congresswoman-elect Love will be the first black Republican woman in history to have a seat in the United States Congress. In addition, she will also be the first Haitian-American House member.
Love unsuccessfully ran for the seat in 2012 when she lost to six-term Democrat Jim Matheson. After her loss, Love vowed to run again. When Matheson announced he would not seek re-election, Love was seen as the favorite to replace the congressman.
Love is the daughter of Haitian immigrants and a first-generation American. She moved to the Utah area when she converted to Mormonism and immediately got involved in politics. Love was first elected to the Saratoga Spring city council in 2003. In 2010, Love became mayor and remained in that office until she decided to run for Congress a second time.
Love also made headlines in 2012 for her speech during the Republican National Convention.
While Love was the favorite going into Tuesday, she won by a slim margin of only a few thousand votes.