Trump's proclamation comes true: Rep. Mia Love loses re-election bid in Utah

Steve Kiggins | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Trump praises Pelosi, talks unity after midterms President Donald Trump says there is still a very good chance of bipartisanship after Democrats won the House.

On the morning after Election Day, President Donald Trump chided U.S. Rep. Mia Love for losing her re-election bid in reliably red Utah.

She hadn't lost – yet. That only became official on Tuesday.

The first black Republican woman elected to Congress in 2015, Love lost her bid for a third term by less than 700 votes against Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams, adding to the Democratic majority in the U.S. House of Representatives come January.

"This race was about connecting with Utah," McAdams said while declaring victory on Monday night before the final results were posted by the state. "This race was about who was best positioned to serve Utah and working to not get it caught up in a national, partisan election."

The race had remained too close to call for The Associated Press for two weeks. State election officials are scheduled to certify results on Monday.

In a statement on Tuesday, Love said she planned to call McAdams but didn’t indicate if she would concede or congratulate him. She said she’s traveling with family for Thanksgiving and won’t speak about the race until Monday.

"Regardless of how you voted, I want to express my sincere appreciation to you for engaging in the process," Love said. "It is one of many reasons this is the greatest country on earth."

Love was among House Republicans targeted in the hours after the midterms by Trump, who suggested their defeats were at least in part because of their refusal to embrace his presidency.

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"Mia Love gave me no love," Trump said. "And she lost. Too bad. Sorry about that, Mia."

This is the second time Love has narrowly lost a bid for Congress. In her first run in 2012, Love lost to incumbent Democrat Jim Matheson by 768 votes. She went on to defeat Democratic challenger Doug Owens in 2014 and again in 2016.

McAdams is just the fourth Democrat that Utah has elected to the U.S. House since 1990.

He pitched himself as a solid moderate, a strategy aimed at independent voters who account for nearly 4 in 10 voters in the largely suburban Salt Lake City district and designed to overcome his built-in disadvantage in a district where registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by nearly 3 to 1.

Though solidly conservative, Utah voters have long been uncomfortable with Trump’s brash style and his comments about women and immigrants. That anxiety is especially pronounced in the suburbs of blue-leaning Salt Lake City, and McAdams’ mayor position gave him solid name recognition with voters.

With McAdams' victory, Democrats have flipped nearly 40 seats – including all seven in Orange County, California, once a GOP stronghold – to win control of the U.S. House.

Contributing: The Associated Press