[3] Salesa replaced long serving MP Ross Robertson in the Manukau East seat when he retired at the 2014 election.

[6] During the 2017 New Zealand general election held on 23 September, Salesa retained Manukau East by 12,589 votes, beating the National Party candidate Bakshi.

[10][11] During the 2020 New Zealand general election, Salesa contested the Panmure-Ōtāhuhu electorate, defeating National Party candidate Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi by a final margin of 18,626 votes.

[13] On 9 November 2020, Salesa was granted retention of the title "The Honourable" for life, in recognition of her term as a member of the Executive Council.

[15] During the 2023 New Zealand general election, Salesa retained the Panmure-Ōtāhuhu electorate by 7,970 votes, defeating National's candidate Navtej Randhawa.