The Republican National Committee announced today that Saratoga Springs Mayor and Congressional candidate Mia Love will speak at the GOP’s convention in Tampa, Florida, next week.
With visits to Utah last week by Senator John McCain and Speaker John Boehner, Saratoga Springs Mayor Mia Love has been getting a lot of support from the Republican Party. Adding to this momentum, Love will speak next week at the Republican National Convention. Love says she’s honored to have been chosen and will do whatever she can to get Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan elected, and return the support Ryan has given her campaign.
"He’s always been really supportive of this campaign and I think they just want to make sure they have people who can articulate the values of fiscal discipline, limited government, personal responsibility, and they think I can do that. And I think Utah will come out in droves and I wouldn’t be surprised if Mitt Romney gets the highest percentage of votes here in the state of Utah."
Love, who is running against 6-term Democratic Representative Jim Matheson for a seat in the 4th Congressional District, says her speech at the convention will be less about her campaign, but instead focus on Romney and promoting the people of Utah.
“It will help introduce me a little bit better to the 4th district. But we are going to be working here, and we are going to make sure the campaign sticks to the campaign. And again I’m there as a representative from the state of Utah and someone who supports Mitt Romney."
Thad Hall, An Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Utah, says the Republican Party is constantly trying to highlight diverse candidates, and that Love’s Haitian ethnicity as well as her political background make her a perfect speaker for the convention.
“I’m sure part of the reasons they chose her is because she presents a whole world of diversity in a very conservative person, which she is, she has all those things together. So this will allow her to present a conservative Republican case for Mitt Romney in the persona of an African American woman who is a local Mayor, which is kind of the ideal person.”
Hall adds Love’s appearance at the convention will help increase her media coverage as she campaigns against Matheson.
Reacting to the announcement at an event where he received the endorsement of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the incumbent said while Love is about political parties, he’s about putting Utah first.
“I’d much rather stand with a non partisan group like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, whose endorsing me saying this is the kind of guy we want in Congress to get things done in a bi-partisan way to help our economy grow. That’s what I’m about. So I love the contrast I think one side is about the political party, I’m about substance and moving our economy forward.”
The Republican National Convention runs August 27 - 30. Love is speaking Tuesday evening, the same night former presidential candidate Rick Santorum and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will speak.