SARATOGA SPRINGS, Utah - The small-town mayor of Saratoga Springs wants every vote counted. Mia Love says she was surprised by the election night results and points out there are still thousands of provisional and absentee ballots that have to be counted before anyone can be declared an official winner.
"On that night I was surprised; I was hoping to be a little further ahead. Disappointed? Yeah, Yeah. Absolutely," said Mia Love in an interview with Fox 13's Nineveh Dinha.
Love isn't declaring victory but she isn't bowing out either. Election night results put Congressman Jim Matheson ahead by 2,800 votes in Utah's newly drawn 4th District. With 72,000 provisional and absentee ballots left to count, Love says, "You never know; the race is very close."
It took the Saratoga Springs mayor nearly a week to break her silence after delivering a short speech just before midnight last Tuesday.
"There are so many mixed emotions. I have no regrets; I feel good about the campaign we ran."
Love says she wouldn't do anything different. However, she thinks SuperPACS and negative political ads from outside groups who spent millions on the race clouded Utah voter's decisions.
"I think that it's unfortunate we have so much money we have coming from outside trying to deceive voters. I really wish we didn't. Most of the time I was talking; I was saying to people, 'No I'm not trying to get rid of social security. No I'm not trying to get rid of education.'"
Love doesn't know what the future holds but when asked if she would run again against Congressman Matheson two years from now she says, "I can't make any predictions. I'm going to wait and see what happens."
In the meantime, the mother of three is already thinking about what's next. Love has a scheduled speaking engagement in Ohio, a key battleground state in this year's Presidential Election.
She says no matter what happens on November 20th when every vote is counted, "I'm going to always serve. I don't know what that's going to be in but I will always serve."
[Watch the full interview between Mia Love and FOX 13's Nineveh Dinha]
