U.S. House candidate Mia Love's prepared remarks yesterday at the Republican National Convention were only 298 words (though there was an intro video beforehand), but they were enough to set the media abuzz and label her a rising superstar.
Townhall spoke with Love less than 24 hours after her primetime debut, but the candidate seemed relatively unaffected by the media demand that followed her speech.
"I wasn't focused on what the response was going to be from the media," Love said, when asked if she had anticipated the aftermath of her remarks. "I wanted to get a message out. That message comes from Utah, comes from the 4th district, talks about the America we know, in the past, where we are, where we're going in the future, and if we don't change anything, we're going to end up with an America that we don't recognize."
The responses, Love said, were voluminous, especially from Utah. She called yesterday "a good rallying day."
But the biggest measure may be in fundraising. Love couldn't speak to the precise figure, but she knew the campaign had raised over $100,000 dollars, though it's unclear if that entire amount was post-speech. Her site had a money bomb where the figures keep getting crossed out as a higher goal takes their place. This afternoon, the goal was up to $100,000. By early evening, the goal increased to $150,000. The litany of crossed-out figures from the site tell the tale: "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 for Mia."
Recommended
"We've received a flood of support since her speech," the website says, while also noting that Love's Democrat opponent Rep. Jim Matheson had previously been outspending her 10 to 1.
In modern-day politics, however, Love has to contend with not only a strong opponent and the RNC media blitz, but with classless attacks such as the Wikipedia entry which labeled her a name too impolite to repeat.
When asked in general if she gets frustrated about having to deal with the "war on women" narrative and the race-baiting narratives, Love said she thinks people are concerned about the debt, jobs, the future, and "those things are not prejudice."
"So we want to make sure that we're focusing on the issues," she says. "We'll always turn it back and talk about those things. I think that divisiveness is not a good thing."
Watch the full interview with Love below.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member