House Dem donated $1K to freshman GOP lawmaker

Freshman Rep. Mia Love (R-Utah), the only female black Republican in Congress, says she received a campaign donation from an unlikely source: one of her Democratic colleagues in the House.

Love tells The Salt Lake Tribune that Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.) sought her out in House Republicans’ Capitol Hill Club to give a $1,000 check from his campaign committee to help her win in November.

A startled Love said she asked if it was a joke. Scott, a black member of the centrist Blue Dog Coalition, insisted that it wasn’t, saying that “it is important for us to have people of color on both sides of the aisle.”

{mosads}Scott confirmed Love’s story in an interview with the Tribune, and Federal Election Commission records show a $1,000 donation in May from Scott’s campaign committee. 

“Mia has proven herself. She is very smart, very talented,” Scott said. “It is very important for us as African-Americans to look at the big picture and realize that we are in a big game here and we have to have alliances.”

There are a total of 43 black lawmakers in the House, of which only two — Love and fellow freshman Rep. Will Hurd (Texas) — are Republicans. The Senate has only two black members: Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.).

Love has been touted as one of the GOP’s rising stars, but she is one of the most vulnerable House incumbents this election cycle. She faces a rematch against Doug Owens, whom she defeated by about 5 points in 2014.

Scott’s donation to Love defies the support from House Democrats’ campaign arm, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, for Owens this year. Multiple House Democratic lawmakers’ campaign committees have donated to Owens, including Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (Md.).

The Salt Lake City-area district was previously represented by a centrist Democrat, Jim Matheson, who served in the House for 14 years until his retirement in 2015.

Love said she developed a relationship with Scott while they served together on the House Financial Services Committee. 

“I am the only candidate out of 435 members that has been endorsed and supported by someone from the other side of the aisle,” Love said. “That tells you something.”