[6] Before holding elected office, Jacobs served as deputy commissioner of environment and planning in the administration of Erie County Executive Joel Giambra.

[9] In February 2006, Jacobs was the Republican nominee in a special election for a State Senate seat representing Buffalo and Niagara Falls.

[19] Jacobs defeated Nate McMurray, 50.7%-45.6%,[20] in a special election on June 23, 2020, for the balance of Collins's term[21] and was sworn in as a member of Congress on July 21, 2020.

[25] In January 2021, Jacobs objected to the certification of the 2020 U.S. presidential election results in Congress, basing his decision on what The New York Times called "spurious allegations of widespread voter fraud".

[30] On May 19, 2021, Jacobs was one of 35 Republicans who joined all Democrats in voting to approve legislation to establish the January 6 commission meant to investigate the storming of the U.S.

[32] In September 2022, Business Insider reported that Jacobs had again violated the STOCK Act when he failed to properly disclose 43 additional securities trades worth between $456,043 and $1.415 million.

[33] On May 22, 2022, as a result of sanctions imposed by the United States in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Jacobs was one of 963 Americans permanently banned from entering Russia.

[40] On July 29, 2022, Jacobs and one other Republican, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, joined the Democrats in voting for a bill banning assault weapons.

[41] In 2022, Jacobs was one of 39 Republicans to vote for the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2022, an antitrust package that would crack down on corporations for anti-competitive behavior.