Melanie Stansbury

Melanie Ann Stansbury (born January 31, 1979) is an American politician and former ecology instructor serving as the U.S. representative for New Mexico's 1st congressional district since 2021. The district includes the majority of Albuquerque and most of its suburbs. A Democrat, Stansbury previously served as a member of the New Mexico House of Representatives for the 28th district from 2019 to 2021.

Early life and education Stansbury was born in Farmington, New Mexico, and raised in Albuquerque. After graduating from Cibola High School in 1997, she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in human ecology and natural science from Saint Mary's College of California in 2002. She then received a Master of Science degree in development sociology with a minor in American Indian studies from Cornell University in 2007,

Early career Stansbury began her career as an ecology instructor at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. As a White House Fellow, she worked as a policy advisor on the Council on Environmental Quality. She was a consultant at Sandia National Laboratories and later served as a program examiner in the Office of Management and Budget during the Obama administration. She worked on the staff of the United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and as an aide to Senator Maria Cantwell. Since 2017, she has worked as a consultant and senior advisor at the Utton Transboundary Resources Center of the University of New Mexico.

Stansbury was again unopposed in the 2020 primary. She defeated Republican Thomas R. Stull and Libertarian Robert Vaillancourt in the general election.

In the House, Stansbury introduced legislation to improve the energy conservation and water resource management of the state of New Mexico. She served as the vice chair of the Energy, Environment, & Natural Resources Committee.

Upon Stansbury's 2021 resignation from the state legislature in order to run to represent New Mexico in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Bernalillo County Commission appointed Pamelya Herndon as her replacement.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2021 special

After Joe Biden announced Deb Haaland as his nominee for U.S. Interior Secretary, Stansbury announced her campaign for the special election to fill the seat. In the first round of voting by the state Democratic committee, Stansbury placed second after state Senator Antoinette Sedillo Lopez and automatically advanced to the runoff. In the second round of voting, she defeated Sedillo Lopez by six votes. As no Republican had represented the district since 2009, The Santa Fe New Mexican labeled her "a heavy favorite".

She defeated state Senator Mark Moores and former state Lands Commissioner Aubrey Dunn Jr. in the June 1 election in a landslide. Her margin of victory was slightly larger than President Biden's 23-point victory in the district in 2020, and significantly larger than Deb Haaland's in 2020 for the House.

Tenure On August 12, 2022, Stansbury voted to pass the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.

According to a FiveThirtyEight analysis, during the 117th Congress, she voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time.

When President Donald Trump entered the House chamber for the 2025 Joint Session of Congress, Stansbury held a sign that said "this is not normal" to protest the mass firing of federal workers.

Committee assignments For the 119th Congress: Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency (Ranking Member)

Caucus memberships Congressional Progressive Caucus Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus Democratic Women's Caucus Rare Disease Caucus

Political positions In a 2021 candidate questionnaire created by the Adelante Progressive Caucus, Stansbury pledged support for Medicare for All legislation, a federal assault weapons ban, the D.C. statehood movement, canceling student loan debt, federal marijuana legalization, She was endorsed by abortion rights group Voteprochoice.

On March 1, 2025, Stansbury participated in the discussion at the “Know The Assignment” webinar held by WomenForward.

Personal life Stansbury lives in Albuquerque. Party Votes for Stansbury % Opponent Party Votes % 2018

| Democratic 7,335 53.7 Jimmie C. Hall (inc.) |Republican 6,326 46.3 2020 | Democratic 8,908 52.6 Thomas R. Stull |Republican 47,111 35.6 2022 | Democratic 156,462 55.7 Michelle Garcia Holmes |Republican 124,151 44.2 2024 | Democratic 193,203 56.4 Steve Jones |Republican 149,546 43.6