Sarah Zabel

Zabel's campaign website says she was born in Los Angeles in 1965, moved with her family to Arizona and then Texas, and graduated from high school near San Antonio in 1983.[4] She graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy with a degree in computer science in 1987 and was commissioned a second lieutenant, and she later earned a master's degree in computer science from the University of Texas at San Antonio (1996) and master's degrees from the Air Command and Staff College (2001) and the U.S. Army War College (2007).[4][2]

Zabel entered the Air Force as a communications-computer systems officer and stayed in that field for more than 30 years, working in computer systems and cybersecurity.[4][3] Her campaign biography says she commanded the 43rd Communications Squadron at Pope Air Force Base, the 9th Mission Support Group at Beale Air Force Base, and the 75th Air Base Wing at Hill Air Force Base, deployed to the Middle East from 2003 to 2004, and served on the Air Staff and Joint Staff, at U.S. Transportation Command, and as Vice Director of the Defense Information Systems Agency before retiring as a major general in 2018.[4][1][2]

After retiring, Zabel wrote a book about the science of depression, inspired by a friend's struggle with the illness, and became an adjunct for the RAND Corporation, according to her campaign biography and her Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.[4][1] She moved to Idaho in 2020 and lives in Bayview in North Idaho. The Idaho Press reports that she was a registered Republican until about 2018 and described herself as a Republican throughout her career, and that she decided to run as an independent in part because she felt her values of limited government and fiscal responsibility were no longer being represented.[3][9] She entered the race in November 2025; the Idaho Press reports she cited polarization in her community during the 2024 presidential election and had put $30,000 of her own money into the campaign.[1][3] When she entered the race, she said she was offering an alternative to the major parties.[1][2][3][4] She received 6.1% of the vote to Russ Fulcher's 64.3%, according to unofficial results reported by NBC News.[5]