Republican Mia Love said Wednesday she plans to "work hard to earn every single vote" in her race for the Utah congressional seat being vacated by Democratic Rep. Jim Matheson.
"We're going to work hard to earn every single vote. And, it's the same strategy. Business as usual," the mayor of Saratoga Springs, Utah, said on "Fox & Friends."
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Love announced her bid for Matheson's House seat earlier this year. Her campaign follows a previous attempt in 2012 to unseat Matheson, Utah's sole Democratic congressman. In that race, she lost by 768 votes.
Matheson's announcement came as a surprise Tuesday when he announced in a Facebook post that he would not seek an eighth term in office.
His seat was already in play for 2014, given his narrow victory over Love last year. But his departure could make it even more winnable for the GOP, especially given that voters are already familiar with Love.
If elected, the mayor would become the first Haitian-American congresswoman from Utah.
Matheson's seat had also been regarded as vulnerable because of the shadow that Obamacare is casting on Democrats. Love predicted some Democrats could fall victim to the healthcare law, and said lawmakers could not expect to go "back and forth" on the issue.
"There are going to be some backlashes, and people have to be held accountable for the decisions that they make," she said.
Love said Congress needs to get more aggressive in addressing "our out-of-control spending," and said the focus of her campaign would be to "restore the American dream back to this country."
"I'd like to make sure that we're creating independent Americans that can give back to their communities. I think that our country will be completely different if we're able to do that," she said.
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