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Sabrina Cervantes

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Sabrina Cervantes
Official portrait, 2024
Member of the California Senate
from the 31st district
Incumbent
Assumed office
December 2, 2024
Preceded byRichard Roth
Member of the California State Assembly
In office
December 5, 2016 – November 30, 2024
Preceded byEric Linder
Succeeded byLeticia Castillo
Constituency60th district (2016–2022)
58th district (2022–2024)
Personal details
Born (1987-10-24) October 24, 1987 (age 38)
Riverside, California, U.S.
PartyDemocratic
Spouse
Courtney Downs
​
(m. 2018)​
Children3
EducationUniversity of California, Riverside (BA)

Sabrina Cervantes (born October 24, 1987) is an American politician who has served in the California State Senate since 2024, representing the 31st Senate District in the Inland Empire in Southern California. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as a member of the California State Assembly, representing the 58th Assembly District from 2022 to 2024 and the 60th Assembly District from 2016 to 2022, both of which encompassed northwestern Riverside County.

Cervantes was first elected to the State Assembly in November 2016 to represent the 60th Assembly District after defeating incumbent Republican Eric Linder. In 2019, she became the first member of the California State Legislature to give birth to triplets while serving in office.[1] She is the author of the landmark California Voting Rights Act of 2026.[2]

Early life and education

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Cervantes was born and raised in Riverside County, California. Her father, Greg, had previously served as mayor of Coachella and her sister, Clarissa, currently serves on the Riverside City Council.[3] She earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science with a minor in public policy from the University of California, Riverside.

Career

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Before being elected to the State Legislature, Cervantes served as a district director for a member of the California State Assembly, and as director of the California Voter Project, a statewide nonprofit dedicated to increasing voter registration.

She also worked in the private sector alongside various community organizations to enhance the local economy, broaden access to quality education, and improve access to governmental services. She is currently a member of the Human Rights Campaign, The PICK Group of Young Professionals, and serves on the Advisory Board for the University of California, Riverside School of Public Policy. She has previously served on the board of directors for the UCR Chicano Latino Alumni Association, and non-profit organizations TruEvolution and Women Wonder Writers.[4]

From 2022 to 2024, Cervantes served as Chair of the California Latino Legislative Caucus[5], and currently serves as Vice Chair of the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus.[6][7] She is also a member of the California Legislative Women's Caucus.[8]

Cervantes served as Chair of the Senate Committee on Elections and Constitutional Amendments from December 2024 to February 2026, and currently serves as Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

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In May 2025, the Sacramento Police Department issued Cervantes a citation on suspicion of driving under the influence after her car was t-boned by another vehicle, but charges were not pursued by the District Attorney after lab tests showed no measurable presence of either drugs or alcohol.[3][9][10][11] On September 8, 2025, Cervantes filed a claim against the Sacramento Police Department, accusing the department of retaliation against her for sponsoring a bill that the department did not support, and for being LGBTQ and a Latina. According to Cervantes, the white woman who hit her was treated differently.[12][13]

Electoral history

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California State Assembly

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2016 California State Assembly 60th district election[14][15]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Eric Linder (incumbent) 30,048 45.6
Democratic Sabrina Cervantes 27,346 41.5
Democratic Ken Park 8,478 12.9
Total votes 65,872 100.0
General election
Democratic Sabrina Cervantes 77,404 54.5
Republican Eric Linder (incumbent) 64,710 45.5
Total votes 142,114 100.0
Democratic gain from Republican
2018 California State Assembly 60th district election[16][17]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bill Essayli 30,639 52.9
Democratic Sabrina Cervantes (incumbent) 27,241 47.1
Total votes 57,880 100.0
General election
Democratic Sabrina Cervantes (incumbent) 67,950 54.1
Republican Bill Essayli 57,710 45.9
Total votes 125,660 100.0
Democratic hold
2020 California State Assembly 60th district election[18][19]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Sabrina Cervantes (incumbent) 46,511 54.4
Republican Chris Raahauge 38,968 45.6
Total votes 85,479 100.0
General election
Democratic Sabrina Cervantes (incumbent) 110,133 56.4
Republican Chris Raahauge 85,116 43.6
Total votes 195,249 100.0
Democratic hold
2022 California State Assembly 58th district election[20][21]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Sabrina Cervantes (incumbent) 28,568 54.1
Republican Bernard William Murphy 13,449 25.5
Republican Leticia Castillo 10,756 20.4
Total votes 52,773 100.0
General election
Democratic Sabrina Cervantes (incumbent) 50,259 53.6
Republican Bernard William Murphy 43,464 46.4
Total votes 93,723 100.0
Democratic hold

California State Senate

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2024 California State Senate 31st district election[22][23]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Cynthia Navarro 46,633 45.9
Democratic Sabrina Cervantes 40,033 39.4
Democratic Angelo Farooq 15,026 14.8
Total votes 101,692 100.0
General election
Democratic Sabrina Cervantes 153,282 54.3
Republican Cynthia Navarro 128,994 45.7
Total votes 282,276 100.0
Democratic hold

Personal life

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She gave birth to triplets in 2019, the first to do so as a sitting member of the California State Legislature.[24][25]

References

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  1. ↑ "Riverside Co. Assemblywoman Sabrina Cervantes Makes History With Birth of Triplets". KTLA, December 16, 2019.
  2. ↑ "Gov. Gavin Newsom signs bills meant to stop Trump changes in CA elections". nressenterprise.com. September 21, 2026. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
  3. 1 2 Norman, Nicole; Mason, Melanie; Holden, Lindsey (May 21, 2025). "California Democratic lawmaker cited for drunk driving near state Capitol". Politico. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  4. ↑ ""Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes Biography"". Archived from the original on October 16, 2018. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
  5. ↑ "California Latino Legislative Caucus Membership Directory"
  6. ↑ "California Legislative LGBT Caucus"
  7. ↑ "Political Notebook: List of out CA Statehouse 2016 candidates expands". Bay Area Reporter, November 26, 2015.
  8. ↑ "California Legislative Women's Caucus"
  9. ↑ Smith, Darrell (May 22, 2025). "CA lawmaker's hospital report, drug screen show clean result after DUI accusation". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved May 24, 2025.
  10. ↑ Holden, Lindsey; Norman, Nicole (May 30, 2025). "California Democrat will not face DUI charges after negative drug test". Politico. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
  11. ↑ Apodaca, Tori (September 18, 2025). "California lawmaker releases body camera video after claiming unlawful arrest by Sacramento police". CBS Sacramento.
  12. ↑ Nelson, Laura J.; Solis, Nathan (September 8, 2025). "California state senator accuses Sacramento police of retaliation over 'egregious' DUI arrest". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on September 10, 2025.
  13. ↑ Rodriguez, Matthew (September 8, 2025). "California lawmaker files claim against Sacramento for defamation, unlawful arrest". CBS News.
  14. ↑ "June 7, 2016, Presidential Primary Election - State Assemblymember" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  15. ↑ "November 8, 2016, General Election - State Assemblymember" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  16. ↑ "June 5, 2018, Statewide Direct Primary Election - State Assemblymember" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  17. ↑ "November 6, 2018, General Election - State Assemblymember" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  18. ↑ "March 3, 2020, Presidential Primary Election - State Assemblymember" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  19. ↑ "November 3, 2020, General Election - State Assemblymember" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  20. ↑ "June 7, 2022, Primary Election - State Assemblymember" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  21. ↑ "November 8, 2022, General Election - State Assemblymember" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  22. ↑ "March 5, 2024, Presidential Primary Election - State Senator" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  23. ↑ "November 5, 2024, General Election - State Senator" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  24. ↑ "California Assemblywoman Sabrina Cervantes has triplets". The Press Democrat. December 16, 2019. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  25. ↑ Rosenhall, Laurel (November 7, 2017). "Millennial legislator who turned a red district purple is now a prime target". CalMatters. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
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