Heather Wilson is a candidate for the U.S. Senate in New Mexico to succeed retiring Senator Jeff Bingaman.
A Life of Service.
Wilson’s record of public service dates to age 17, when she packed her bags for the U.S. Air Force Academy in the third class to include women. She graduated in 1982. A Rhodes Scholar, Wilson earned her master’s and doctoral degrees in international relations from Oxford University in England.
As an Air Force officer she worked with our NATO allies and in the United Kingdom. Then in 1989, she became director for European defense policy and arms control on the National Security Council staff at the White House under the first President Bush.
An Advocate for Families.
Wilson was the owner of a successful small business in Albuquerque when, in 1995, she was asked to take charge of New Mexico’s Children, Youth and Families Department where she led efforts to reform child welfare laws, modernize the juvenile justice system and improve early childhood education.
A Leader.
Heather Wilson served in the Congress from 1998 until 2009. She was a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Wilson was the only female veteran in Congress.
A Fighter.
A perennial target of national special interest groups who spent millions of dollars trying to defeat her in 6 general elections, Wilson consistently over- performed the average Republican candidate against top tier opponents in one of the most Democrat-leaning districts held by a Republican in the nation.
A Mom.
Wilson lives in Albuquerque with her husband, Jay Hone. They have three children — an adult adopted son, and two teenage children still at home.
