Even her name is media friendly. Mia Love instantly became the darling of the Republican Party on Wednesday, after being elected as its first Black female member of Congress — and she is a Mormon to boot.

She has also rapidly drawn comparisons with Barack Obama, not least since she wowed her party's 2012 national convention with a tale of rags-to-political-riches, much like the young Senator Obama did in 2004. "Many of the naysayers out there said that Utah would never elect a Black Republican LDS woman to Congress," she said at her victory rally, referring to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormons. "Not only did we do it, we were the first to do it," said the 38-year-old, who was previously mayor of Saratoga Springs, a city 35 miles (56 kilometers) south of Salt Lake City.

Born Ludmya Bourdeau in Brooklyn to Haitian-American parents, Love catapulted herself into Washington's political spotlight by winning the Mormon-dominated western US state's Fourth Congressional District.