Melissa Romano
2025 - Present
2027
0
Melissa Romano (Democratic Party) is a member of the Montana House of Representatives, representing District 80. She assumed office on January 6, 2025. Her current term ends on January 4, 2027.
Romano (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Montana House of Representatives to represent District 80. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Biography
Melissa Romano lives in Helena, Montana. Romano earned an associate degree in photography from Northwest College in 1997, a B.S. in social sciences in 2002 and an M.S. in elementary education in 2003, both from the University of Bridgeport. Her career experience includes working as a teacher in the Helena School District, a facilitator at Illustrative Mathematics, and a special project coordinator for the Montana Federation of Public Employees.[1] Romano served a three-year term on the Montana Council of Teachers of Mathematics where she served as president.[2]
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at:editor@ballotpedia.org.
2023-2024
Romano was assigned to the following committees:
- Agriculture Committee
- House Education Committee
- House Legislative Administration Committee
- House Taxation Committee
Elections
2024
See also: Montana House of Representatives elections, 2024
General election
General election for Montana House of Representatives District 80
Incumbent Melissa Romano defeated Rachel Burright in the general election for Montana House of Representatives District 80 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Melissa Romano (D) | 53.8 | 2,937 | |
| Rachel Burright (R) | 46.2 | 2,520 | ||
| Total votes: 5,457 | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Montana House of Representatives District 80
Incumbent Melissa Romano advanced from the Democratic primary for Montana House of Representatives District 80 on June 4, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Melissa Romano | 100.0 | 1,291 | |
| Total votes: 1,291 | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Montana House of Representatives District 80
Rachel Burright advanced from the Republican primary for Montana House of Representatives District 80 on June 4, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Rachel Burright | 100.0 | 1,187 | |
| Total votes: 1,187 | ||||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Romano in this election.
2022
See also: Montana House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for Montana House of Representatives District 81
Melissa Romano defeated Jill Sark in the general election for Montana House of Representatives District 81 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Melissa Romano (D) | 57.9 | 2,827 | |
| Jill Sark (R) | 42.1 | 2,055 | ||
| Total votes: 4,882 | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Montana House of Representatives District 81
Melissa Romano defeated Jake Troyer and Jacob Torgerson in the Democratic primary for Montana House of Representatives District 81 on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Melissa Romano | 65.8 | 1,108 | |
| Jake Troyer | 18.6 | 313 | ||
| Jacob Torgerson | 15.6 | 263 | ||
| Total votes: 1,684 | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Ben Kuiper (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Montana House of Representatives District 81
Jill Sark defeated Charlie Hull in the Republican primary for Montana House of Representatives District 81 on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Jill Sark | 57.0 | 643 | |
| Charlie Hull | 43.0 | 485 | ||
| Total votes: 1,128 | ||||
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2020
See also: Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction election, 2020
General election
General election for Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction
Incumbent Elsie Arntzen defeated Melissa Romano and Kevin Leatherbarrow in the general election for Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Elsie Arntzen (R) | 52.2 | 310,111 | |
| Melissa Romano (D) | 43.7 | 259,886 | ||
| Kevin Leatherbarrow (L) | 4.1 | 24,202 | ||
| Total votes: 594,199 | ||||
| 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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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction
Melissa Romano advanced from the Democratic primary for Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction on June 2, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Melissa Romano | 100.0 | 132,792 | |
| Total votes: 132,792 | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction
Incumbent Elsie Arntzen advanced from the Republican primary for Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction on June 2, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Elsie Arntzen | 100.0 | 178,156 | |
| Total votes: 178,156 | ||||
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Libertarian primary election
The Libertarian primary election was canceled. Kevin Leatherbarrow advanced from the Libertarian primary for Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Endorsements
To see a list of endorsements for Melissa Romano, click here.
2016
Romano ran for Montana Superintendent of Schools in the 2016 election. She was unopposed in the June 7 Democratic primary and competed with Elsie Arntzen (R), also unopposed in the primary, in the November 8 general election.[3]
Elsie Arntzen defeated Melissa Romano in the Montana superintendent of schools election.
| Montana Superintendent of Schools, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Elsie Arntzen |
51.65% | 253,790 | |
| Democratic | Melissa Romano | 48.35% | 237,590 | |
| Total Votes | 491,380 | |||
| Source: Montana Secretary of State | ||||
Melissa Romano ran unopposed in the Montana Democratic primary for superintendent.
| Montana Democratic primary for superintendent, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Melissa Romano (unopposed) |
100.00% | 103,951 |
| Total Votes (686 of 686 precincts reporting) | 103,951 | |
| Source: Montana Secretary of State | ||
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Melissa Romano did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Melissa Romano did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Melissa Romano completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Romano's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Melissa Romano is a collaborative leader and problem solver in and outside of her classroom. Having worked as an educator for more than 15 years, Romano is a recipient of the National Science Foundation's "Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST), and the 2018 Montana Teacher of the Year, acknowledging her accomplishments as a second grade teacher, kindergarten teacher and Instructional K-8 Mathematics Coach.
In Helena, Romano served as a facilitator of a Helena School District elementary mathematics support group. She served on the Montana Council of Teachers of Mathematics as President. Romano was a board member for the Montana Learning Center. She also served on the Smarter Balanced State Network of Educators for Montana.
Romano participated in the National Education Association Common Core Working Group. Romano was also selected as an evaluator for the Educators Evaluating the Quality of Instructional Products with Achieve. Romano also earned a position as a Master Teacher with BetterLesson.
Romano earned her B.A. in science and her M.S. in elementary education from the University of Bridgeport (Connecticut). She is a certified elementary school teacher in the State of Montana. She lives in Helena, Montana, along with her husband and four children.
- As Montana's next superintendent, I pledge to stand up for our public schools, students and teachers and fight for them every day.
- Providing Montanans with public preschool is long overdue. I will make it a priority to finally fund public preschool in Montana.
- Teacher recruitment and retention are now critical problems across our state. We need to do everything we can to get qualified educators into our classrooms.
As a public school teacher, I am passionate about education equality and ensuring all of our children have access to a quality, public education.
The Office of Public Instruction is a vital state agency that shapes the future of our state. Our children are our legacy and our future and if we aren't investing in them, our future is bleak. Montana has a rich history of investing in our students and public schools and unfortunately we have not seen a strong advocate for our school system at the Office of Public Instruction the last four years. We need to restore leadership to the Office of Public Instruction and stand up for our public schools, teachers and students once again.
The Office of Public instruction has one of the most important responsibilities of any state agency: ensuring every child has access to a quality education. While my opponent has failed to stand up for Montana's kids time and time again, I will actively fight to protect our public schools and ensure all children receive the quality education our constitution guarantees them. I have spent my entire career working to empower students and truly believe education is a great equalizer. As Superintendent of Public Instruction, I work to ensure all students have access to a quality education.
The Superintendent of Public Instruction is also a member of the Land Board, which is tasked with managing our state's resources. As a member of the Land Board, I will ensure that revenue is maximized for the benefit of Montana schools while guarding our public lands and ensuring they remain in public hands.
I believe the most important qualification for this office is a deep understanding of what goes on in a classroom and a commitment to ensuring our children have what they need to live a successful life.
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.
2016
Romano's campaign website included the following positions:
| “ | Graduation Matters
Currently, Montana has our highest graduation rates in history. When Montana’s students graduate, we all reap the reward of a stronger economy and more opportunities for our students. I will work to ensure that a high school diploma is an indicator of students’ accomplishments and readiness for college or career. There are multiple factors that could impact a student’s ability to complete high school in four years and/or before they are 19 years old. I will work to extend state funding for 19 year olds so that all students have the opportunity to complete and obtain their high school diploma. Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Every student in Montana deserves the opportunity to be successful. Replacing the outdated No Child Left Behind law frees Montana’s educators from its failed requirements, and allows them more opportunities to be creative in their curriculum to inspire a love of learning in students. The Every Student Succeeds Act gives Montana more autonomy to do what is best for our state, and our education system. Additionally, increased support into Montana’s preschool education will put our youngest students on a path of success. Land Board The Land Board has a constitutional duty to manage the state’s natural resources in a way that has the largest financial benefit to public schools. As a member of the land board, I will work to protect every Montana’s right to hunt, fish, and recreate on our public lands and waters. I will work to facilitate responsible and reasonable development that creates jobs, helps fund our public schools, and maintains our lands for future generations of Montanans.[4][5] |
” |
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Montana scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2024
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
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In 2024, the Montana State Legislature was not in session. |
2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the Montana State Legislature was in session from January 2 to May 2.
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See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate Montana House of Representatives District 80 |
Officeholder Montana House of Representatives District 80 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Melissa Romano," accessed March 29, 2023
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on May 19, 2020.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedcandlist - ↑ Melissa Romano for Superintendent of Public Instruction, "Issues," accessed October 4, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Montana House of Representatives District 80 2025-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by Mary Caferro (D) |
Montana House of Representatives District 81 2023-2025 |
Succeeded by - |
