Mia Love is the one who got away.
Raised in Norwalk and educated at the University of Hartford, Love shattered a glass ceiling last November, when she became the first black woman elected as a Republican to Congress.
But the rising star of the GOP, whose parents reside in Stratford, didn’t do it in Connecticut.
No, the Haitian-American represents Utah’s 4th congressional district.
Love knows the way home, though, as she demonstrated this week, hitting Greenwich for a fundraiser Thursday before multiple events Friday in Norwalk.
The 39-year-old, who vaulted onto the national stage at the GOP’s 2012 convention, was hosted by Greenwich Republican Leora Levy at a fundraising reception.
Levy is a member of the Republican National Committee’s finance arm and a reliable fixer for the party’s top tier of talent.
About 30 supporters were on hand for Love, who met her husband, Jason Love, while he was doing a Mormon mission in Ridgefield, a GOP source told Hearst Connecticut Media.
Individual tickets started at $500 per person, with a $2,700 price point for sponsors and $5,400 for hosts. The money will go into Love’s re-election account for 2016.
Love spoke Friday at Norwalk High School, her alma mater, and a GOP gala in her hometown.
Connecticut Republicans probably wish they could clone Love, as the party has struggled mightily to make inroads in the minority community and the largest cities in the state.