Sara Jacobs Bio
Sara Josephine Jacobs (born February 1, 1989) is an American politician who has served as the United States representative for California’s 51st congressional district since 2023. She previously represented the state’s 53rd congressional district from 2021 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, Jacobs represents central and eastern portions of San Diego along with nearby eastern suburbs such as El Cajon, La Mesa, Spring Valley, and Lemon Grove.
Jacobs is the youngest member of California’s congressional delegation and the youngest member of the Democratic House leadership, where she serves as a caucus leadership representative. Before entering elective office, she built a career in international policy, working for the United Nations, UNICEF, and the U.S. State Department, advising Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, and founding a San Diego nonprofit focused on ending child poverty.
Early Life and Background
Sara Josephine Jacobs was born in San Diego, California, on February 1, 1989. She grew up in a family with deep roots in business and philanthropy. Her father is Gary E. Jacobs, and her grandfather is the billionaire businessman Irwin M. Jacobs, a co-founder and former chairman of the semiconductor company Qualcomm. This family background gave her early exposure to public policy discussions, entrepreneurship, and the responsibilities that come with significant private wealth.
Jacobs attended Torrey Pines High School in San Diego, where she completed her secondary education. She went on to attend Columbia University in New York, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 2011. She remained at Columbia to complete a Master of International Affairs in international relations in 2012. Her graduate training helped shape her focus on global development, humanitarian response, and the rights of children around the world.
Path to US Politics
After earning her master’s degree, Jacobs joined the United Nations and later worked with UNICEF, gaining direct experience with international development and humanitarian policy. In February 2014, she transitioned to a contractor role with the United States Department of State, deepening her understanding of American foreign policy. These roles allowed her to work alongside senior diplomats and aid professionals on issues ranging from refugee support to children’s welfare.
Jacobs entered national politics as a policy advisor on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. After the election, she returned to San Diego and founded San Diego for Every Child: The Coalition to End Child Poverty, a nonprofit organization focused on lifting children out of poverty in her home region. The experience of running a local advocacy organization encouraged her to seek elected office, and she launched her first congressional campaign in 2018.
Sara Jacobs Career
Early Career (2018-2020)
Jacobs ran as a Democratic candidate in the 2018 elections for California’s 49th congressional district. In that race’s blanket primary, she finished third behind Diane Harkey and Mike Levin, and she did not advance to the general election. The campaign introduced her to voters across coastal north San Diego County and provided a foundation of campaign experience, donor networks, and policy platforms that she would carry into her next race.
In 2020, Jacobs ran in California’s 53rd congressional district. She finished first in the top-two primary and defeated San Diego City Council President Georgette Gómez in the November general election. When she took office on January 3, 2021, she became the youngest United States Representative from California. Her 2020 campaign was largely self-financed: according to OpenSecrets, she contributed $6,921,255 of her own funds, which represented 90.32 percent of her total campaign contributions and made her the fifth most self-funded candidate in the 2020 federal elections.
Congressional Breakthrough (2021-Present)
Since entering Congress, Jacobs has been active on foreign affairs, health care, immigration, and family policy. In 2022, she authored legislation to regulate the collection of personal reproductive health data, including information gathered by period-tracking apps. Senators Mazie Hirono and Ron Wyden introduced a companion version in the United States Senate. She also introduced a bill to rename the Andrew Jackson Post Office in Rolando after her predecessor, Susan A. Davis; the bill was signed into law on December 27, 2022.
On July 19, 2022, Jacobs was arrested, along with 16 other members of Congress, at a demonstration in support of abortion rights outside the United States Supreme Court Building. She is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Subcommittee on Africa. In that capacity, she has supported legislation to block certain arms exports to the United Arab Emirates over concerns about support for paramilitary forces in Sudan, and she visited a refugee camp in Sudan in March 2024 to observe conditions for children displaced by the conflict.
Jacobs has also weighed in on major debates over U.S. military assistance abroad. In March 2023, she was among 56 Democrats to vote in favor of a resolution directing President Joe Biden to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria within 180 days. She opposed the Biden administration’s decision to supply cluster munitions to Ukraine in July 2023. In November 2023, she called for a bilateral ceasefire in the Gaza war and an end to the blockade of the Gaza Strip. In April 2024, she joined 39 Democrats, including Nancy Pelosi, in a call for the administration to stop the transfer of certain U.S. weapons to Israel during the Gaza war.
California’s 51st District Era (2023-Present)
Following redistricting after the 2020 United States census, Jacobs ran in the redrawn California’s 51st congressional district. She defeated Republican Stan Caplan in the general election, earning roughly 62 percent of the vote. The 51st district keeps her anchored in central and eastern San Diego, the same region she has represented since first taking office.
In the 118th Congress, Jacobs has continued her work on reproductive health, child care, and foreign policy. She co-leads the Child Care for Every Community Act, which aims to create a federally funded, locally run network of child care centers, and she supports the Child Care is Essential Act. She has described herself as a supporter of Medicare for All and has called climate change one of the biggest threats facing humanity, advocating for a zero-carbon, clean energy economy by 2030.
Notable Events and Milestones
Jacobs has built a reputation for direct engagement on politically sensitive issues, from her arrest at the Supreme Court in 2022 to her work on the Sudan portfolio and Gaza-related votes. In 2025, she responded to a ceasefire agreement in the Middle East by emphasizing the need to repair U.S. credibility, ensure humanitarian access, and support a permanent ceasefire. Her career so far is defined by an early start, a focus on children and global health, and a willingness to break with members of her own party on high-profile foreign policy questions.
Sara Jacobs Career Wins
Sara Jacobs has won every general election she has contested since her first successful congressional campaign in 2020. Her victories include a 2020 win in California’s 53rd congressional district and a 2022 win in the redrawn 51st district, where she defeated Republican Stan Caplan with about 62 percent of the vote.
Congressional Election Highlights
Her first congressional win came in 2020, when she finished first in the top-two primary and then defeated San Diego City Council President Georgette Gómez in the general election. Her most recent win came in 2022, when she prevailed in California’s 51st congressional district over Stan Caplan. She has held her seat continuously since January 3, 2021, and she remains the youngest member of California’s congressional delegation.
Other Achievements and Recognition
Beyond electoral success, Jacobs has earned recognition as the youngest member of the Democratic House leadership and as a leading voice in Congress on reproductive data privacy, child care policy, and U.S. engagement in Africa and the Middle East. With an estimated net worth of $76 million, she is also among the wealthiest members of Congress, a status that has shaped both her fundraising capacity and her profile in national politics.
Sara Jacobs Family
Family Background and Lineage
Jacobs was raised in a prominent San Diego family. Her father is Gary E. Jacobs, and her paternal grandfather is Irwin M. Jacobs, the co-founder and former chairman of the semiconductor company Qualcomm and a billionaire businessman. The Jacobs family’s wealth and civic engagement have been recurring themes in media coverage of her political career, including reporting on campaign self-funding.
Personal Life
Jacobs lives in the Kensington neighborhood of San Diego. She is Jewish. Since 2019, she has been in a relationship with Ammar Campa-Najjar, a former Democratic candidate for a neighboring congressional district. With an estimated net worth of $76 million, she is one of the wealthiest members of Congress.