Sara Jacobs

Rep. Sara Jacobs, 37, a Democratic member of Congress, is running for re-election to her seat representing portions of San Diego and East County in California’s 51st Congressional District.

Jacobs lives in her native San Diego and is seeking her fourth term in Congress, where she holds a leadership position in her party.

The San Diego Union-Tribune emailed a series of questions to Jacobs and other candidates to help inform voters about their positions, priorities and plans if elected.

Jacobs said she did not use any AI tools in responding to the Union-Tribune’s questions.

1) Why are you running, and what makes you the best candidate? (150 words max)

I’m proud to be one of the youngest members of House leadership and to represent a new generation of leaders. I’ve shown that leadership means standing firm, getting things done, and having a bold vision for the future. I’ve pushed back against presidential overreach and abuses of power, especially when they affect our military and immigrant communities. At the same time, I’ve shown that I will work with anyone to deliver for San Diego, passing bipartisan legislation to help more people put food on the table, improve the quality of privatized military housing, expand military housing access and more. But I’m not satisfied with small fixes when so many people are still struggling. The status quo isn’t working for most Americans, and that’s why I’m fighting for big and bold solutions like free and universal child care, reimagining our social safety net and overhauling our approach to housing and homelessness.

2) What are the top 3 issues facing this district? (150 words max)

San Diego is the fifth most expensive housing market in the country! That’s why I support cutting the red tape to dramatically scale up building housing and expand Section 8 vouchers and rental assistance to address the high cost of housing.

It’s also difficult for parents to find and afford child care. That’s why I’m leading the effort to get free, universal and multi-modal child care so families can find and afford child care that meets their needs while providers earn a living wage.

San Diego is on the frontlines of our country’s failure to pass comprehensive immigration reform. I oppose mass deportation and detention policies that are wasting billions of dollars terrorizing Americans. We need an orderly and humane immigration process, and that starts with addressing the root causes of migration, relieving the strain on the asylum system and expanding legal pathways to enter, work and stay here.

3) What are the first 3 things you would do in your first/next term in Congress? (150 words max)

In my next term in Congress, I will continue to focus on three urgent priorities to alleviate the skyrocketing cost of living in San Diego.

First, I will push to pass my legislation to create free, universal child care so parents can thrive in the workforce. These investments will ultimately pay for themselves by saving future costs in education, health care and the criminal justice system.

Second, I will prioritize providing relief to renters and expanding the housing supply by supporting policies that promote housing that’s affordable.

Third, I will work to strengthen and reimagine our social safety net, ensuring that one economic setback doesn’t push families into poverty. By addressing child care, housing and economic security, we can create a San Diego where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

4) If your party wins control of Congress, what should be its first priority? If your party loses control of Congress, what should be its first priority? (100 words max)

If Democrats win the House, our first priority should be passing a comprehensive affordability package that will bring down the costs of child care, housing and health care.

If Republicans maintain control of the House, our first priority should be accountability and oversight of this administration through whatever means necessary — leveraging the appropriations process, wielding subpoena power, working with outside partners to file lawsuits and more.

5) President Trump has made cracking down on immigration a cornerstone of his administration, ordering widespread arrests and detentions of immigrants nationwide and directing military resources to a new military zone along the U.S.-Mexico border. What impact have these had on this district? What are your goals on immigrants, immigration and the border, and how would you pursue them if elected? What is your message to constituents who are immigrants? (150 words max)

President Trump’s mass detention and deportation agenda hasn’t made San Diego or the American people any safer. Instead, it has wasted billions of dollars, redirected infrastructure and manpower (including away from wildfire management) and swept up and killed American citizens. The data is clear: over 70% of those detained by ICE in the San Diego area had no criminal conviction; instead, they’re going after our friends and neighbors who are contributing to our economy.

San Diego has proven that when we have the right resources and support, we can have a humane and orderly immigration process. Nationwide, we need to address the root causes of migration, relieve the strain on the asylum processing system by increasing judges and case officers and expand legal pathways to enter, work and stay here. Here’s my message to my constituents who are immigrants: You are welcome here, and you are valued.

6) It’s been nearly two months since the United States began a war with Iran. Do you believe Americans are better or worse off for it? What should Congress’s role be? Would you vote to let the president continue the war beyond the 60 days after which congressional authorization is required? (150 words max)

Americans — especially our community in San Diego — are worse off because of President Trump’s reckless war in Iran.

Like every forever war that’s come before, we will pay the price for the war in Iran — both with American lives and American taxpayer dollars. We’re already seeing this happen: Our costs on everything from gas to utilities to groceries to housing have gone up. Two San Diego-based warships and thousands of San Diego-based troops have already deployed to the Middle East, and many more in the area have received 48-hour deployment notices.

That’s why I’ve voted for every war powers resolution to end this costly, reckless and unnecessary war of choice — and I will continue to vote to do so. I will also vote against any funding for this war.

7) Recent jumps in the cost of fuel, food and other goods — combined with federal cuts to safety-net programs, new limits on certain federal loans and more — are squeezing residents already struggling with San Diego County’s high costs of living. What relief would you seek to offer, and how? (150 words max)

First, I would push to reverse all of President Trump’s draconian policies that are skyrocketing costs — from tariffs to social safety net cuts to the Iran war to his deportation policies. But we can’t just go back to pre-Trump policies and think that’s good enough — because the status quo hasn’t been working for San Diegans for decades.

That’s why I’m pushing for House Democrats to introduce and pass a transformational affordability package: free and universal child care, building millions of new homes that are affordable, massive student debt relief, universal health care and more. We can’t nibble around the edges when so many people need urgent, robust help.

8) Like much of California, this district has been affected by the effects of climate change. How should Congress mitigate those impacts, and what would you do to pursue such efforts? (100 words max)

We’ve suffered the consequences of the climate crisis — from droughts to year-round fire seasons to historic flooding. I believe our continued inaction will only worsen the costs to our health and to our economy in terms of lost GDP and lost productivity. I was proud to have helped pass the Inflation Reduction Act — the largest climate investment in our history, but unfortunately, much of that progress has been reversed under this Administration. Moving forward, we need to meet the scale of this crisis with robust investments to transition to a 100% clean, renewable energy economy and build smart, sustainable infrastructure.

9) Polling underscores that one chief concern of California voters in the 2026 midterm elections is the issue of threats to democracy. What do you believe are the greatest threats to American democracy? How would you, and how should Congress, protect against these? (100 words max)

I believe one of the greatest threats to democracy is the lack of faith and trust in our institutions and elected officials. One way that I’m fighting against this is through participatory democracy. I’ve launched two programs in my office that empower students and child care providers to identify problems in their lives and come up with federal solutions. The goal is to get citizens more involved and engaged in our democracy. I also think Congress can regain trust by fulfilling its responsibilities and actually delivering for people to show that government can be a force for good.

10) Do you support a ban or restriction on congressional lawmakers and their families buying or selling individual stocks? Why or why not? And what would you propose to ensure lawmakers aren’t using their positions to engage in insider trading? (100 words max)

Yes! I don’t believe any elected official should profit or personally gain from their position. That’s why I’m a proud cosponsor of the bipartisan Restore Trust in Congress Act, which would prohibit members of Congress and their families from owning, buying or selling individual stocks. I’ve also pledged to not gamble on prediction markets and have banned my staff from doing the same — our policy is now the framework for the entire U.S. House.

11) By design Congress is supposed to serve as a check on the executive branch through budgetary, legislative and oversight powers. Do you believe that Congress has fulfilled that obligation in recent years? Why or why not? Should Congress do more to hold the president accountable? Explain. (150 words max)

Congress has failed to fulfill its duty as a coequal branch of government long before Donald Trump was president. For example, Congress has routinely failed to pass an annual budget on time and instead relies on continuing resolutions, has ceded its war powers responsibilities and has conducted insufficient oversight of the executive branch.

If Democrats take back the House, and I’m hoping we do, we’ll have many more tools at our disposal to hold President Trump accountable. We can conduct oversight hearings, control the legislative calendar and bring bills to the floor, wield subpoena power, constrain his authority legislatively, utilize the power of the purse and pursue impeachment. We should use all of these methods to stop his corruption, blunt his reckless policies and protect the American people.

12) A recent San Diego Union-Tribune poll found voters overwhelmingly disapprove of the job Congress is doing, by higher margins than they disapprove of the job Trump is doing. Why do you think this is? How can Congress win back voters’ hope and trust, and what would you personally do to achieve this? (150 words max)

I think the lack of faith and trust in our institutions and elected officials is one of our country’s biggest problems. At the bare minimum, Congress needs to address this crisis by fulfilling its basic responsibilities: passing an annual budget on time, avoiding government shutdowns and actually getting things done. Members of Congress also shouldn’t financially enrich themselves, engage in sexual harassment or abuse or pursue other misconduct. And lastly, Congress needs to end its penchant for incrementalism; we need to propose and enact the big solutions people need. Personally, I’m willing to work with anyone to deliver for our community. I believe in radical authenticity whether that’s online or out in our community — I want my constituents to know who I am so they can trust me. I’m also pushing for big solutions (like free, universal child care) to actually solve people’s problems, instead of maintaining the status quo.