Mia Love, the newly-minted Republican star from Utah, has seen contributions to her congressional campaign spike after a Republican National Convention speech that wowed the party faithful but provoked racist attacks from opponents.
Love told the story of her family immigrating from Haiti and faulted President Obama for running a negative campaign.
“President Obama’s version of America is a divided one — pitting us against each other based on our income level, gender, and social status,” she said at the convention. “His policies have failed! We are not better off than we were 4 years ago, and no rhetoric, bumper sticker, or campaign ad can change that.”
The campaign is in the midst of a successful fundraising push — called a money bomb — that seeks to capitalize on her speech. “This ‘Love Bomb’ is about bringing supporters together to make a big difference in this race by raising $50,000 $65,000 $75,000 $100,000 $125,000 $150,000 $175,000 for Mia,” her website says.
The speech also inspired some animosity, as reflected in edits to her Wikipedia page. “Though the changes have since been removed, screen grabs posted to various websites show one section called her a “dirty, worthless whore” who sold out to big business,” Fox News observed. “Another section again called her a “sell-out” to the “right wing hate machine,” before accusing her of being exploited “like the House N—– she truly is.”
“It is very gratifying to see an average man or average woman who Mia’s message resonated with and see them break open their pocketbooks,” Brian Somers, Love’s communications director, told The Daily Herald (Utah). The Herald noted that Love’s opponent, Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, had a $1 million fundraising advantage over her according to the latest financial reports.
