Melanie Stansbury
Melanie Stansbury, a Democrat who has represented New Mexico's 1st congressional district since winning a 2021 special election, seeks re-election in 2026 against Republican Didi Okpareke, a pharmacist.
2026 Races & Market Forecast
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- Born
- January 31, 1979
- Birthplace
- Farmington, New Mexico
- Education
- Cibola High School (1997)
Saint Mary's College of California (Bachelor of Arts in human ecology and natural science, 2002)
Cornell University (Master of Science in development sociology, 2007)
Biography & Campaign Analysis
Background
Melanie Stansbury was born on January 31, 1979, in Farmington, New Mexico, and raised in Albuquerque. After graduating from Cibola High School in 1997, she received a Bachelor of Arts in human ecology and natural science from Saint Mary's College of California in 2002. She went on to earn a Master of Science in development sociology, with a minor in American Indian studies, from Cornell University in 2007, where she was a PhD candidate.
Career
Melanie Stansbury began her career as an ecology instructor at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science.
As a White House Fellow she was a policy advisor on the Council on Environmental Quality, and she later worked as a program examiner in the Office of Management and Budget during the Obama administration, on the staff of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and as an aide to Senator Maria Cantwell.
In 2018 she defeated seven-term Republican incumbent Jimmie C. Hall for the 28th district seat in the New Mexico House of Representatives, where she served until 2021 and was vice chair of the Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee.
When Deb Haaland was nominated as U.S. Interior Secretary, Stansbury won the state Democratic committee's runoff vote for the nomination over state senator Antoinette Sedillo Lopez by six votes.
She then defeated state senator Mark Moores and former state Lands Commissioner Aubrey Dunn Jr. in the June 1, 2021, special election.
In the 119th Congress she serves on the Committee on Natural Resources and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, where she is ranking member of the Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency.
2026 race
Melanie Stansbury is seeking re-election in New Mexico's 1st congressional district, which covers the center of the state, including Torrance, Guadalupe, De Baca and Lincoln counties, eastern Bernalillo County and most of Albuquerque.
She was re-elected with 56.4% of the vote in 2024 and was unopposed in the 2026 Democratic primary. Her Republican opponent is Didi Okpareke, a pharmacist who won the Republican nomination after two other candidates, including 2024 nominee Steve Jones, were disqualified.
The general election takes place on November 3, 2026.