James Manuel Costa (born April 13, 1952) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2023, previously representing the 20th congressional district from 2005 to 2013 and the 16th congressional district from 2013 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, his district includes most of Fresno. Costa served in the California State Assembly from 1978 to 1994 before he was elected to the California State Senate from 1994 until 2002. During his time in the California State Assembly, he served as Majority Caucus Chair. Costa, who chaired the Blue Dog Coalition in the U.S. House of Representatives, also chaired the Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture during the 117th Congress. Early life and education Born in Fresno, Costa is a third-generation family farmer. His grandparents emigrated from the Azores in the early 20th century. He graduated from San Joaquin Memorial High School (1970) and from Fresno State (1974), where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon and graduated with a bachelor's degree in political science. He worked as a Special Assistant to Congressman John Krebs (1975–76) and as Administrative Assistant to Assemblyman Rick Lehman (1976–78). California legislature Costa was elected to the California State Assembly in 1978. At the time of his election to the California State Legislature, he was the youngest member of the legislature at the age of 26. He represented part of Fresno County in the state legislature for 24 years, serving in the State Assembly (1978–1994) and the State Senate (1994–2002). He was a sponsor of the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, a bill signed into law in 1995 that prohibits rent control on single-family homes, condominiums, and any rental unit constructed after February 1, 1995. U.S. House of Representatives Elections 2004 In 2004, Costa entered the Democratic primary for the 20th district, which was opened up by the retirement of its seven-term incumbent, Cal Dooley. Dooley endorsed his chief of staff, Lisa Quigley, as his successor, but most of the state's Democratic Party establishment, including Senator Dianne Feinstein, endorsed Costa, who won the bruising primary and faced Republican state senator Roy Ashburn in November. The 20th district is a heavily Democratic, 63% Latino-majority district; it gave Al Gore his highest vote total outside the state's two large conurbations (Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area in the north and Los Angeles and San Diego to the south). Nonetheless, the Republicans spent