First black GOP woman in Congress wins reelection

by Peter Schroeder - 11/09/16 2:17 AM ET

The first black Republican woman elected to Congress is holding on to her seat for a second term.

{mosads}Rep. Mia Love (R-Utah) is projected to defeat Doug Owens in a rematch of the 2014 race that first sent Love to Washington.

Love shot to prominence after speaking at the 2012 Republican National Convention, when she was the mayor of Saratoga Springs, Utah. She ran unsuccessfully for Congress that fall, before running again and winning two years later.

But Democrats had eyed reclaiming the seat in 2016, particularly given Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s struggles to win over Utah voters.

Trump was badly defeated in the state’s caucuses in March, pulling in just 14 percent support. And polling leading up to the general election showed Trump stumbling in the reliably red state, with Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and independent Evan McMullin within reach of the GOP nominee.

Love lost a tight race in 2012 against Rep. Jim Matheson (D) for the seat, losing by less than 1,000 votes. After Matheson retired in 2014, she defeated Owens, the son of former Rep. Wayne Owens, who represented Utah in the 1970s and 1980s.

Tags Donald Trump Hillary Clinton Jim Matheson