(vs. Jim Matheson) Mia Love of Utah hopes to become the first black Republican woman in Congress [View all]

[alp227]

Other than her conservatism, there is little about Mia Love that doesn’t stand out in Utah. She is a black Republican, a 36-year-old mother of three, a fitness instructor and mayor of a growing town.

Now, her congressional race against a popular incumbent whom Republicans have struggled to defeat has made Love a minor celebrity among GOP stalwarts.

She recently introduced herself to a group of teachers, standing in the gilded state Capitol, which historically has been the domain of white men, by describing her Haitian American father.

“He said: ‘Mia, your mother and I never took a handout. You will not be a burden to society,’ ” she said with a stern smile. “ ‘You will give back.’ ”

Most of the teachers already knew of Love, whose race against six-term Rep. Jim Matheson (D) has become one of the country’s most closely watched congressional contests.

full: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/mia-love-of-utah-hopes-to-become-the-first-black-republican-woman-in-congress/2012/06/25/gJQAbUiq2V_singlePage.html

Love had this viral video "Give Back" that the Post article linked to:

Basically shows her with family and in community events as mayor and as a fitness instructor. Then at 2:00 the typical freedom rhetoric:

"It is not government's responsibility to save our country. It is our responsibility to save our country. What makes America great? It's this ideal that we are free: free to work, free to live, free to choose, and free to fail, because our failures make us better."

Of course, we all know that most of the Republi-CONS in Congress (excluding the once-in-an-eclipse sane one like Lisa Murkowski or David McKinley) march lock-and-step with the environmental polluter and fundiegelical lobbies. Expect Love to do the same if she defeats Jim Matheson. Utah DUers, please get active for Matheson!

Oh, Matheson's district (UT-2) is drawn in a way that runs from Salt Lake City (where arch-progressive Rocky Anderson was once mayor) to St. George to the Utah side of the Four Corners. I wonder how Matheson managed to get re-elected in such a district.