Jacob Candelaria

Jacob Candelaria
Member of the New Mexico Senate
from the 26th district
In office
2013  October 19, 2022
Preceded byBernadette Sanchez
Succeeded byMoe Maestas
Personal details
Born
Jacob Rodney Candelaria

1986 or 1987 (age 38–39)
Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic (until 2021)
Independent (2021–present)
SpouseKory Tillery
EducationPrinceton University (AB)
University of New Mexico (JD)

Jacob Rodney Candelaria (born 1987) is an American politician and attorney who served as a member of the New Mexico Senate for the 26th district from 2013 to 2022. First elected in 2012 as a Democrat, he later left the party in 2021 to become an independent.

On December 6, 2021, Candelaria announced that he was changing his party affiliation from "Democrat" to "Decline to State".

Candelaria was the first openly gay man elected to the New Mexico Legislature.