Melanie Wade Goodwin (July 22, 1970 – September 1, 2020) was an American politician who served in the

North Carolina House of Representatives The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House, who holds powers similar to those of the President pro-tem in the North Ca ...

from the 66th district as a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. She was the first member of the

North Carolina General Assembly The North Carolina General Assembly is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Government of North Carolina, State government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the North Carolina Senate, Senate and the North Ca ...

to give birth while in office.

Early life

Melanie Wade Goodwin was born to Albert and Nancy Wade on July 22, 1970, in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

. in 1988, she graduated from Jesse O. Sanderson High School. In 1992, Goodwin graduated from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in English. She later graduated from

Campbell University Campbell University is a private Baptist university in Buies Creek, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (Southern Baptist Convention). Southern Baptist ConventionColleges and Universities sbc.net ...

with a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

. In 2000, she was admitted to the

North Carolina State Bar The North Carolina State Bar (NCSB) is the state agency charged with regulating the practice of law in the U.S. state of North Carolina. In contrast, the North Carolina Bar Association is a voluntary association. History NCSB was established in ...

. On May 16, 1998, she married

Wayne Goodwin George Wayne Goodwin (born February 22, 1967) is an American politician. He was elected North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance in the 2008 election and re-elected in 2012. He was narrowly defeated in his bid for a third term in 2016. However, h ...

, a member of the

, with whom she had two children.

North Carolina House of Representatives

In 2004, Wayne Goodwin announced that he would seek election as North Carolina's Labor Commissioner rather than seek a fifth term in the North Carolina House of Representatives. Melanie Goodwin ran as the Democratic nominee and won in the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

. She was reelected in 2006, and 2008. In 2009, she announced that she would not seek a fourth term in the North Carolina House of Representatives. In 2008, she gave birth to her second child, which was the first time a sitting member of the

had given birth.

Later life

Goodwin was appointed to serve as Deputy Commissioner of North Carolina's Industrial Commission on July 8, 2011. On March 1, 2019, she was named as Chief Deputy Commissioner by Chairman Philip Baddour III. In 2009, Goodwin was diagnosed with breast cancer, and died in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...

, on September 1, 2020.

Electoral history

2008

2006

2004

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodwin, Melanie Wade 1970 births 2020 deaths 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Democratic Party members of the North Carolina House of Representatives North Carolina lawyers People from Rockingham, North Carolina Politicians from Richmond, Virginia Women state legislators in North Carolina Deaths from breast cancer