An Air Force Academy graduate and Rhodes Scholar, Wilson is the only woman veteran serving in the Congress and would become the first woman in New Mexico history to serve in the Senate. Before being elected to the Congress, she was New Mexico’s Cabinet Secretary for Children, Youth and Families and was a small business owner. She served on the National Security Council Staff at the White House during the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Warsaw Pact.

Wilson has served the people of the First District of New Mexico in the House of Representatives for nine years where she is known for her excellent constituent service and her expertise on national security matters. The First District leans Democratic while New Mexico as a whole leans slightly Republican. In 2006, Wilson held her seat against a challenge by the sitting Attorney General of New Mexico who was one of the best funded challengers in the country.

Wilson is married to Jay Hone, an Albuquerque attorney. They have one grown son and two school age children.