Melissa Bean (née Luburich; born January 22, 1962) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2005 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, Bean is the nominee to regain her old seat in the 2026 U.S. House election.

Early life and education Bean grew up in a Serbian-American family in the Chicago suburbs, where her adopted father was a machine belt factory owner. She attended Maine East High School before graduating from Oakton Community College with an associate degree in 1982 and from Roosevelt University in 2000 with a bachelor's degree.

Early career Prior to her election to congress, Bean was president of a home-based business, Sales Resources Inc.

2002 U.S. House campaign In 2002, Bean was defeated by 73-year-old 8th district Republican incumbent Phil Crane, who had held the seat for 33 years. However, Bean managed 43 percent of the vote, surprising observers from both parties, given that the national party offered almost no financial support to her campaign.

2004 U.S. House campaign Bean rematched against Crane in 2004. This time, Bean raised almost as much money as Crane, mainly from small donors. In contrast, Crane received most of his donations from political action committees. Despite Republican efforts to help Crane, Bean defeated him with 52 percent of the vote, a margin of roughly four percentage points. George W. Bush carried the district in the concurrently-held presidential election by 12 points. When Bean took office on January 3, 2005, she became the first Democrat to represent the district since it was formed in 1935.

U.S. House of Representatives

Bean was a member of the moderate Blue Dog Coalition and the pro-business New Democrat Coalition. She served on the Small Business and Financial Services committees after being granted a waiver by Democratic leadership.

Committee assignments Committee on Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Committee on Small Business Subcommittee on Finance and Tax Subcommittee on Contracting and Technology Subcommittee on Regulations, Healthcare and Trade 2010 defeat

Bean was challenged by Republican nominee Joe Walsh and Green Party nominee Bill Scheurer, an anti-Iraq war candidate. Although Bean was heavily favored, she lost to Walsh by 291 votes. Bean was endorsed by the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times, The Daily Herald, and the Lake County News-Sun.

Post-congressional career In 2011, Bean became President and CEO of the Executives Club of Chicago. After serving as chair of Midwest operations for JPMorgan Chase, she became CEO of Mesirow Wealth Advisors, part of Mesirow Financial, in 2019.

2026 U.S. House campaign

In September 2025, Bean announced her intention to run for her old congressional seat after a 15-year absence. The incumbent, five-term fellow Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi, was running for the U.S. Senate. She was subsequently endorsed by Leading the Future super PAC backed by Andreessen Horowitz and OpenAI. On March 17, 2026, Bean won the Democratic nomination after defeating candidates such as Junaid Ahmed- who was endorsed by prominent progressive lawmakers such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)- and Dan Tully.

Political positions Tax cuts and finance In her first year in Congress in 2005, Bean was one of nine House Democrats to vote with Republicans to extend tax cuts on capital gains and dividends, a vote which House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi called "immoral". She also departed from the Democrats in 2006 to vote to extend about $70 billion in the Bush tax cuts (she was one of just 15 Democrats to back the legislation). She also voted to repeal the estate tax and voted in favor of a presidential line-item veto — votes that earned her the moniker "Tax Hero" from the anti-tax group Citizens Against Government Waste. Bean voted for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Free trade Bean was one of only 15 Democrats to vote in favor of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), a vote which lost her the endorsement of the AFL-CIO and other unions who viewed her vote as a betrayal, but gained her the support of — and awards from — the United States Chamber of Commerce. She co-sponsored the 2009 Employee Free Choice Act, though it did not become law.

Environment Bean supported the House Democratic cap-and-trade bill in 2009, which would have capped carbon emissions from major U.S. sources and provided economic incentives for industries that reduce their emissions. Iraq war Bean supported the Iraq war, but opposed President George W. Bush's troop "surge" in 2006. Healthcare Bean supports abortion rights and voted in support of the Affordable Care Act. Bean was one of four Democrats to vote against the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010, joining 155 of 159 Republicans in defeating the bill.

Electoral history + : Results 2002–2008YearDemocraticVotesPctRepublicanVotesPct3rd PartyPartyVotesPct2002Melissa L. Bean70,62643%Philip M. Crane95,27557%*2004Melissa L. Bean139,79252%130,60148%200693,35551%David McSweeney80,72044%Bill ScheurerModerate8,5025%*2008Melissa L. Bean146,56360%Steve Greenberg97,93140%2010Melissa L. Bean97,82448.3%Joe Walsh98,115 48.5%Bill ScheurerGreen6,4943.2%Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 2002, Chuck Kelecic received 25 votes. In 2006, minor candidates received 817 votes.

Personal life Bean lives in unincorporated Palatine Township with her husband and two girls. Their residence was in the 8th District when they moved there, but became part of the 10th District because of redistricting. Bean is Serbian Orthodox.

See also Women in the United States House of Representatives

References

External links

Profile at SourceWatch