Sarah Elfreth Bio
Sarah Kelly Elfreth (born September 9, 1988) is an American politician and Democratic Party member who has served as the United States Representative for Maryland’s 3rd congressional district since January 2025. Before her election to Congress, Elfreth represented Maryland’s 30th Senate district in the Maryland Senate from 2019 to 2025, becoming the youngest woman ever to serve in that chamber. Her legislative work has spanned environmental protection, voting access, education funding, and ethics reforms.
A graduate of Towson University and Johns Hopkins University, Elfreth built her early career as a lobbyist, consultant, and adjunct professor before entering elected office. She defeated Republican Rob Steinberger in the 2024 general election after winning a crowded Democratic primary, and was sworn into the 119th Congress on January 3, 2025.
Early Life and Background
Early Life and Background
Sarah Kelly Elfreth was born and raised in Barrington, New Jersey, where her stepfather worked as a locomotive engineer and her mother worked as a probation officer. Her grandfather served in both the Korean and Vietnam wars and later lived with post-traumatic stress disorder, a family experience that helped shape her later policy interests. She is of English descent and is a descendant of Jeremiah Elfreth, the namesake of Philadelphia’s historic Elfreth’s Alley.
Elfreth graduated from Haddon Heights High School in 2006 and went on to attend Towson University on scholarship, where she served as a resident assistant and submitted a thesis on student participation in governing boards. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 2010 and later completed a Master of Science in public policy at Johns Hopkins University in 2012, working as a research assistant in the Office of Government and Community Affairs from 2010 to 2012.
Path to US Politics
Elfreth became involved in Maryland politics while still a student at Towson University, where she joined student government and began traveling to Annapolis to lobby the Maryland General Assembly. She also worked as a summer intern for state senator James Rosapepe and, in 2009, was appointed by Governor Martin O’Malley to serve as the student member of the University System of Maryland Board of Regents. As a student regent, she voted against a tuition increase and supported the governor’s four-year tuition freeze.
After graduating, Elfreth served as a congressional intern for House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer in 2011 and later worked as a lobbyist for the National Aquarium and Johns Hopkins University. She also held a senior director position at Margrave Strategies, a consulting firm founded by former Howard County Executive Kenneth Ulman, before moving to Annapolis and engaging with local Democratic organizations. She has taught as an adjunct professor at Towson University’s Honors College since 2019.
Sarah Elfreth Career
Early Career (2017-2018)
In June 2017, Sarah Kelly Elfreth filed to run for the Maryland Senate, seeking to succeed state senator John Astle, who was leaving the seat to run for mayor of Annapolis. During the Democratic primary, she ran on a slate with House Speaker Michael E. Busch, whom she later cited as her political mentor. She won the Democratic primary and was elected to the Maryland Senate with 53.8 percent of the vote against former state delegate Ron George.
Elfreth was sworn into the Maryland Senate on January 9, 2019. She quickly established herself as a productive legislator, eventually passing 84 bills during her tenure, more than any other legislator during that time. She served on the Budget and Taxation Committee, chaired its Pensions and Public Safety, Transportation, and Environment subcommittee, and led the Joint Committee on the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bay Critical Areas.
Maryland Senate Breakthrough (2019-2024)
During her six years in the Maryland Senate, Elfreth built a record on environmental policy, education, voting access, and ethics. In 2019, she introduced legislation to expand the Board of Regents’ membership and implement oversight reforms, which passed both chambers unanimously and was signed into law by Governor Larry Hogan on April 30, 2019. She also championed a resolution designating June 28 as Freedom of the Press Day in honor of the five killed at the Capital Gazette shooting.
Her environmental work included a 2022 law requiring the Maryland State Retirement and Pensions System to consider climate change as a financial factor in investments, a 2023 State Disaster Recovery Fund signed by Governor Wes Moore, and the Great Maryland Outdoors Act, which expanded staffing and recreational access at Maryland state parks. She also introduced legislation providing $500,000 in physical security grants for abortion clinics, a bill establishing a permanent fund for psychedelic research to help military veterans with PTSD named the David Perez Military Heroes Act, and the Student and Military Voter Empowerment Act.
In 2022, Elfreth served as chair of the Chesapeake Executive Council, where she helped whip votes in the Pennsylvania General Assembly on legislation directing coronavirus relief funding toward agricultural cleanup programs. She was reelected to the Maryland Senate in 2022 and represented the lower half of Anne Arundel County, including the state capital of Annapolis.
U.S. House Era (2025-Present)
On November 4, 2023, Sarah Kelly Elfreth announced her campaign for the United States House of Representatives in Maryland’s 3rd congressional district to succeed Representative John Sarbanes, who had announced his retirement a week earlier. During a competitive Democratic primary against Clarence Lam and Harry Dunn, she campaigned on environmental issues, abortion rights, and healthcare, earning endorsements from U.S. Senators Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin along with several Anne Arundel County-based legislators.
Elfreth won the Democratic primary on May 14, 2024, and defeated Republican nominee Rob Steinberger in the general election on November 5, 2024. She is the youngest woman ever elected to the United States House of Representatives from Maryland. She resigned from the Maryland Senate on January 2, 2025, and was sworn into the 119th Congress on January 3, 2025, alongside April McClain Delaney, marking the first time Maryland has been represented by women in the U.S. House since 2016.
Since taking office, Elfreth has introduced the Protect Our Probationary Employees Act to help federal workers fired during Trump administration workforce reductions reclaim their seniority, and a bill allowing essential federal employees to apply for unemployment benefits during government shutdowns. She opted to withhold her own congressional pay during the 2025 federal government shutdown and criticized the bipartisan deal to end it for failing to guarantee a vote on extending Affordable Care Act subsidies.
Notable Events and Milestones
Elfreth’s rise has produced several historic firsts: she is the youngest woman ever to serve in the Maryland Senate and the youngest woman ever elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland. She passed 84 bills during her time in Annapolis, more than any other legislator during that period, and she served as a delegate to the 2020 and 2024 Democratic National Conventions.
Sarah Elfreth Career Wins
Sarah Kelly Elfreth has compiled a strong record of electoral victories since entering public office. She has won one Maryland Senate general election, one Maryland Senate reelection, and one United States House of Representatives general election, along with a competitive Democratic primary in a 22-way congressional primary field.
Maryland Senate Highlights
Elfreth first won her Maryland Senate seat in 2018 with 53.8 percent of the vote against Republican Ron George, after campaigning on a slate with House Speaker Michael E. Busch. She was reelected in 2022 and during her tenure became the youngest woman ever to serve in the Maryland Senate while passing 84 bills, the most by any legislator in that period.
Other Wins and Achievements
In the 2024 cycle, Elfreth won a crowded Democratic primary for Maryland’s 3rd congressional district on May 14, 2024, before defeating Republican Rob Steinberger in the general election on November 5, 2024. She also served as an at-large delegate to the 2020 and 2024 Democratic National Conventions and chaired the Chesapeake Executive Council in 2022.
Sarah Elfreth Family
Family Background and Political Lineage
Sarah Kelly Elfreth was raised in Barrington, New Jersey, by her mother, a probation officer, and her stepfather, a locomotive engineer. Her grandfather served in both the Korean and Vietnam wars and later lived with post-traumatic stress disorder, a family experience that helped shape her interest in veterans’ issues. She is of English descent and traces her lineage to Jeremiah Elfreth, the namesake of Philadelphia’s Elfreth’s Alley.
Personal Life
In December 2025, Sarah Kelly Elfreth became engaged to Eric Costello, a former member of the Baltimore City Council who served from 2014 to 2024. She has long been based in Annapolis, Maryland, where she lives and previously served in the state Senate.