Politics
Mia Love likely to make history if elected as 1st conservative black woman to U.S. Congress
Federal Election Commission records show that, as of April 6, Love had amassed a campaign war chest of more than US$2 million. The 2012 Love-Matheson contest, with candidates chalking up more than US$10 million in spending, was the most expensive House race in Utah’s history.
Her exposure and experience should put Love in a stronger position than previously, said Chris Karpowitz, associate director of the Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy at Brigham Young University.
But Love, who was named one of the Republican party’s “Young Guns” to watch and given a speaking slot at the 2012 national convention, appears to have toned down some of the Tea Party-style rhetoric, he said.
“She is in a good position in the sense that she has run already, so people know her name,” Karpowitz said. “And she seems to be running a campaign that is a little more focused on the kind of voters that Jim Matheson traditionally won.”
Owens, viewed as the underdog, told reporters by email that he believes voters have tired of partisan rancor and extreme viewpoints. “I will beat Mia Love the same way that Jim Matheson did,” said Owens, a self-described pragmatist. “By focusing on the issues that are important to Utahns and not on national partisan ideology.”
Source: Reuters
