Melissa Ortega
Melissa Ortega (Democratic Party) was a member of the Texas State Board of Education, representing District 1. She assumed office on January 1, 2023. She left office on January 1, 2025.
Ortega (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Texas State Board of Education to represent District 1. She won in the general election on November 8, 2022.
Biography
Melissa Ortega lives in El Paso, Texas. Ortega graduated from Montwood High School. She earned a bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies, a master's degree in education, and a doctorate from the University of Texas at El Paso. Ortega's career experience includes working as a faculty/dissertation coordinator and adjunct faculty with the American College of Education, a women's studies instructor with the University of Texas at El Paso, and an assistant director of staff development with the El Paso Independent School District. She served on the board of directors of the El Paso Insights Science Center.[1][2][3]
Elections
2024
Melissa Ortega did not file to run for re-election.
2022
See also: Texas State Board of Education election, 2022
General election
General election for Texas State Board of Education District 1
Melissa Ortega defeated Michael Stevens in the general election for Texas State Board of Education District 1 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Melissa Ortega (D) | 55.8 | 247,093 |
 | Michael Stevens (R)  | 44.2 | 195,794 | |
| Total votes: 442,887 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary runoff election
Democratic primary runoff for Texas State Board of Education District 1
Melissa Ortega defeated Laura Marquez in the Democratic primary runoff for Texas State Board of Education District 1 on May 24, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Melissa Ortega | 57.5 | 32,123 |
 | Laura Marquez | 42.5 | 23,776 | |
| Total votes: 55,899 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Texas State Board of Education District 1
Melissa Ortega and Laura Marquez advanced to a runoff. They defeated Omar Yanar in the Democratic primary for Texas State Board of Education District 1 on March 1, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Melissa Ortega | 46.1 | 42,374 |
| ✔ | | Laura Marquez | 35.4 | 32,504 |
 | Omar Yanar | 18.5 | 17,008 | |
| Total votes: 91,886 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Texas State Board of Education District 1
Michael Stevens defeated Lani Popp in the Republican primary for Texas State Board of Education District 1 on March 1, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Michael Stevens | 63.6 | 39,865 |
 | Lani Popp | 36.4 | 22,772 | |
| Total votes: 62,637 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign finance
2019
See also: Socorro Independent School District, Texas, elections (2019)
General election
General election for Socorro Independent School District, District 1
Eduardo Mena defeated Melissa Ortega, Joshua Carter Guerra, and incumbent Hector Gonzalez in the general election for Socorro Independent School District, District 1 on May 4, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Eduardo Mena (Nonpartisan) | 38.3 | 304 | |
| Melissa Ortega (Nonpartisan) | 28.2 | 224 | |
 | Joshua Carter Guerra (Nonpartisan) | 25.5 | 202 | |
 | Hector Gonzalez (Nonpartisan) | 7.9 | 63 | |
| Total votes: 793 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Melissa Ortega did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2019
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Melissa Ortega did not complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.
See also
| Texas | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
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External links
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Candidate Texas State Board of Education District 1 |
Personal |
Footnotes
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Georgina Perez (D) |
Texas State Board of Education District 1 2023-2025 |
Succeeded by Gustavo Reveles (D) |
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State of Texas Austin (capital) |
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