Love was born in Montgomery and graduated from Auburn University Montgomery with a degree in business administration. He acquired a Subway franchise in 1992, and eventually opened 16 restaurants in the Montgomery area before selling them in 2006.

In 2008, midway through his second term, Love ran for the open seat in Alabama's 2nd congressional district after eight-term Republican Terry Everett announced his retirement. He finished first in a six candidate primary, winning 35% of the vote.[1] His opponent in the primary run-off was Republican State Senator Harri Anne Smith. Love went on to easily beat Smith in the run-off.

He faced Democrat Bobby Bright, the mayor of Montgomery, in the general election. The race was very close, despite the 2nd's Republican voting history. It fell into Republican hands in Barry Goldwater's 1964 landslide, and Republicans hadn't let go since then. Ironically, both Love and Bright are deacons at First Baptist Church of Montgomery.

In the November election, Bright received 143,997 votes to Love's 142,231 votes—a margin of 1,766 votes, or just over 0.6 percentage points. While the two candidates each won eight of the district's 16 counties, Bright won the district's share of Montgomery County by 30 points. Love had the option of requesting a recount since the margin of victory was less than a point, but opted not to do so and conceded the seat to Bright. Jay has been married to his wife, Cheri, for 14 years and have four children: Rachel Louise, Addison Jay, Rebecca Faye, and Caroline Elizabeth. He is a deacon at First Baptist Church Montgomery which he shares with Bobby Bright. In October 2008, former governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney, openly supported Love and came down to Dothan, Alabama for a fundraiser for Love