What is Mia Love crying about? She lost, yes. But, blaming Democrats for her loss because, according to her, it was Democrats — not the president or Republicans — who targeted her because she was a black woman with conservative views. (She said this in a recent interview on ABC’s “The View.”)
Love’s assertion that Utah Democrats are racists just does not hold water. A look at the Utah Legislature tells a most interesting story. Here are the facts. (Although facts apparently do not matter to Mia Love.)
There are 29 members serving in the Utah Senate. Of these, there are 24 Republicans and five Democrats. In reviewing the roster on the state legislative website, we see that of the 24 Republicans there are zero minorities. Of the five Democrats serving in the Senate, one is Asian and one is Latina. That means 40 percent of the Democrats serving in the Utah Senate are minorities.
A look at the Utah House of Representatives shows there are 75 members, of whom 62 are Republicans and 13 are Democrats. Now, I have to confess that I scrolled down the list of all 75 members and did a look-see of names and faces for my determination of numbers, so this is not a scientific evaluation. But, of the 62 Republicans, I found zero minority members of the Utah House. Of the 13 Democrats, I found five members of our diverse communities: one Asian, one black American and three Latinos. Those results show that 38 percent of the Democrats serving in the Utah House are minorities.
According to the latest census data, minorities in Utah make up 21 percent of our population, so minorities in the Utah Democratic Party outpace the percentages in terms of representation.
So, Mia Love, which party in Utah supports and votes for minorities? It seems that facts show that Utah Democrats do not discriminate and do elect minorities.
You were quoted as saying, “Diversity is good for them if you think the same way they do.”
Well, of course, Miss Political Savvy, that is what politics is all about — electing candidates who think the way you do. According to your own words, Utah voters did not vote for you because you do not think the way they do. It had nothing to do with your being a black woman.
I have been involved in politics for a long time and have lost a few races myself. When you are the losing candidate, you feel dejected, hurt and angry; it takes a while to assess the political landscape and take responsibility for your loss. But, as they say, it’s time to put your big girl panties on realize that it was not those racist Democrats who lost this race for you.
Josie Valdez
Josie Valdez served as vice chair of the Utah State Democratic Party and is president-elect of the Women’s State Legislative Council of Utah.