Adrianne Melby

Adrianne Melby ran for election for Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction. She lost as a write-in in the general election on April 1, 2025.

Melby completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Adrianne Melby's career experience includes working as a stay-at-home parent.^[1]

Elections

2025

General election

General election for Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction

Incumbent Jill Underly defeated Brittany Kinser and Adrianne Melby in the general election for Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction on April 1, 2025.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jill Underly (Nonpartisan)	52.7	1,148,427
		Brittany Kinser (Nonpartisan)	46.9	1,022,489
	Submit photo	Adrianne Melby (Nonpartisan) (Write-in)	0.0	348
		Other/Write-in votes	0.3	7,305

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,178,569
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction

Incumbent Jill Underly and Brittany Kinser defeated Jeff Wright in the primary for Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction on February 18, 2025.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Jill Underly (Nonpartisan)	37.9	177,626
✔	Brittany Kinser (Nonpartisan)	34.5	161,636
	Jeff Wright (Nonpartisan)	27.4	128,292
	Other/Write-in votes	0.2	1,055

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 468,609
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Melby in this election.

Campaign themes

2025

Ballotpedia survey responses

Adrianne Melby completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Melby's responses.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I have been a homeschooling mom for almost two decades. I decided to go back to school myself in 2023. We need to bring back old school values to our modern day schools.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

I fully support Universal School Choice, including homeschooling.
I support the use of the term “mother” and “father” and not “inseminated person”.
I fully support the Constitution of the United States of America and the values our country was founded upon.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Quality education, quality health for our children and families of Wisconsin and a cleanse of corruption from all parties.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

To have a servants attitude, to be willing to listen to all constituents and to live with honor and integrity.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I am resilient, eager to learn new things, as a current full time student I have made Deans list every semester and I want them the best for every child and family in Wisconsin.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Ensuring that every child in Wisconsin is offered the most well rounded education possible from the best teachers. One of the ways we can do that is to make sure every school has open and transparent communication with parents.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I vividly remember the Challenger explosion. We were watching the take off for school and I was in shock when it exploded and so sad for the families whose loved ones wouldn’t be coming home. I would have been 6 at the time.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My very first job was answering phones at a well drilling and service company while I was in high school.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Little Women and Jo’s Boys. I find that these books speak to the power of family, the resilience of people as well as the love and compassion we have can have for all children.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

I’d rather just be myself in all my imperfections just as I was created.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

“Hard Fought Hallelujah” by Brandon Lake and Jelly Roll

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

I have struggled to overcome childhood sexual abuse but as I grow through that, I also believe it makes my empathy for children and families an exceptional strength as well.

What responsibilities of this office do you personally consider the most important?

I believe that having quality curriculum for all students with parents input and empowering teachers to help students learn in the way that best suits them are the most important.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

I believe that having previous knowledge of politics and how our government works is beneficial for those in the elected positions but a willingness to learn and serve would be what I value as most important.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

Financial transparency is essential to maintaining integrity within the school systems. Elected officials should not be the exception to the rule but be held to the highest form of the rule thereby setting the example for all citizens of Wisconsin.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary

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Footnotes

↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on February 23, 2025

[1] Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on February 23, 2025

[1]

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Adrianne Melby

Contents

Biography

Elections

2025

General election

General election for Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction

Endorsements

Campaign themes

2025

Ballotpedia survey responses

Campaign finance summary

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

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