Ammar In The News

Internal Poll Shows Campa-Najjar Best Positioned Against Hunter

RollCall

A Democratic candidate challenging embattled Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter says his internal polling shows he is best positioned to take on the incumbent.

Progressive groups endorse Dems in two key House races

The Hill

Two major national progressive groups have unveiled endorsements for Democratic challengers running in key House races in New York and California.

Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar Counting On Underrepresented Voters In 50th District

KPBS

KPBS Midday Edition is interviewing candidates running to represent San Diego County residents in an effort to give voters the information they need to decide who to vote for in the June primary election.

Campa-Najjar Reports Outraising Duncan Hunter in 50th District Race

Times of San Diego

Democratic Congressional candidate Ammar Campa-Najjar reported Monday his campaign has outraised incumbent Rep. Duncan Hunter in the race for the 50th Congressional District in East County.

Ammar Explains Bipartisan Support for Apprenticeship Programs

NBC News

"Sitting on my old desk at the Department of Labor right now is a memo detailing a ready-made, low risk, high reward and bipartisan federal jobs program that bears a similar name to Trump’s television program. It’s called Registered Apprenticeship..."

Congressional candidate renounces grandfather's violent legacy, calls for Middle East peace

The San Diego Union-Tribune

An East County congressional candidate is calling for a lasting peace between Palestinians and Israelis after a Tel Aviv newspaper published a story about his grandfather’s ties to a terrorist group. Ammar Campa-Najjar, 28, of Jamul, says he never met his grandfather, Muhammad Yusuf al-Najjar, who died in 1973.

Enough is Enough.

Ammar Campa-Najjar

We need to have an honest conversation, we owe it to the children who’ve been taken from us. We need to de-politicize the issue, and focus on common sense, common values and the common good. We owe it to those children.

CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC PARTY REGION 18 ENDORSES AMMAR CAMPA-NAJJAR FOR CONGRESS IN CA50

https://www.cadem.org/

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO – The California Democratic Party’s Region 18 today endorsed Ammar Campa-Najjar for Congress in CA50 at its Pre-endorsement Conference. Campa-Najjar received 97% of the delegate vote in a four-way contest with candidate Josh Butner and potential candidates Patrick Malloy and Larry Tract.

Obama's former staffers hope to build upon his legacy as they run for office

Los Angeles Times

Among the former government officials is Ammar Campa-Najjar, who is seeking to oust Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter in San Diego County. Born in the U.S. to a Mexican mother and a Palestinian father, Campa-Najjar recalls questioning if his fellow Americans would ever truly accept him in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. He brooded and struggled, but his faith was renewed when another biracial man with a unique name and an absent father, Barack Obama, won the presidency of the United States.

Local Indivisible group picks Democrat to endorse against Rep. Duncan Hunter

Los Angeles Times

Indivisible CA50, made up of activists mostly in San Diego County, announced Thursday that it’s endorsing Ammar Campa-Najjar, a Democrat and public affairs consultant who’s challenging Hunter.

Justice Democrats Endorses Duncan Hunter Jr. Challenger, Ammar Campa-Najjar

Campaign Updates

Justice Democrats today officially endorsed Ammar Campa-Najjar for congress — he is running against the first congressman to endorse Donald Trump, and who is currently going through criminal investigation for campaign finance violations. Ammar joins Justice Democrats Congressman Ro Khana, Congressman Raúl Grijalva, and other candidates who are mobilizing communities in California, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Arizona around a real progressive agenda: Medicare-for-All, a massive infrastructure, and clean energy jobs program, tackling racism head on, and much more.

The Push for Education Programs That Pay People As They Learn

The Atlantic

Just before President Trump took office, Ammar Campa-Najjar wrote him a memo urging him to support apprenticeship. Apprenticeship is “a program that sounds like your show,” Campa-Najjar half-jokingly explained to Trump in the letter in a nod to the president’s reality-TV series. “You should just put your name on it, like everything else, and take credit for it.”

CAMPA-NAJJAR LEADS IN FUNDRAISING AMONG HUNTER CHALLENGERS

East County Magazine

First Time Candidate Outraises Incumbent Rep. Duncan Hunter

The San Diego Union Tribune

"Ammar Campa-Najjar raised $165,330 from April through June, besting Hunter, who raised $155,625...While Hunter has a solid voter registration advantage and has cruised to re-election in the past, he is now contending with a federal criminal investigation..."

We Beat Duncan Hunter!

Campaign Updates

WE out-raised EVERYONE in this race— including Duncan Hunter. Hunter had never been outraised in his political career. While this is obviously a feat in and of itself, I really do believe that the real achievement lies in how we did it.

WE Broke the All Time Record!

Campaign Updates

WE raised over $165,000 shattering the record for any challenger in this district - ever! WE received support from over 1,000 individual donors! WE beat our fundraising goal by more than 50 percent, out-raising the field of challengers...Combined.

Former Obama staffers say they’re running for office to protect his legacy

The Mercury News

Other Obama staffers running for office in California include Ammar Campa-Najjar, 28, who jumped into a San Diego congressional race this year. Obama’s 2008 victory was revelatory for Campa-Najjar, the son of a Mexican mother and a Palestinian father, who at the time was “a brooding, biracial kid” struggling to define his identity.

California Today: Young, Arab, Latino and Vying for Congress

The New York Times

"When I talk to people in my district who say they are an illness away from losing their home, I don’t really care about what their political persuasion is. I think when people really cling to their identities they don’t really have sympathy for other communities and their struggles..."

Trump Slaps His Name on Obama’s Jobs Program, Then Makes It Impossible

The Daily Beast

Under President Obama, Ammar Campa-Najjar led the Labor Department’s Office of Public Affairs for the Employment & Training Administration. His responsibilities included helping develop the Obama-era plan to double the number of registered apprenticeships. Before Obama left office, he wrote a piece for NBC News urging Trump to continue that work. He’s currently running for Congress as a Democrat in California’s long-red 50th District.

East County Mag Profiles Ammar’s Plans for the District

East County Magazine

Ammar tells East County Magazine he’s “...running to listen to the problems faced by all people in the district, use his experience in Washington to bring good-paying jobs to East County including rural areas, and bring ‘national pride, not national shame’ as our region’s representative in Congress.”

Teen Vogue Profiles “The Internet’s Favorite Political Candidate”

Teen Vogue

“Long before 28-year-old Ammar Campa-Najjar became the internet's favorite political candidate, he was in the trenches listening to the issues that affect real people. He wasn't door knocking or campaigning, but he was opening letters sent to former President Barack Obama in his role as a White House intern, which he snagged after working as the deputy regional field director for Obama's 2012 campaign.”

Meet Ammar Campa-Najjar, the First Latino-Arab-American to Run for Congress

Latina

Ammar Campa-Najjar is making history as the first Latino-Arab-American to run for Congress, and he believes his multi-cultural identity will make him a better fit for the job. Campa-Najjar, who grew up in San Diego, has a Mexican mother and a Palestinian father, backgrounds he said were difficult to reconcile. He was often told he was “too American” to be Palestinian and, in his largely Latino neighborhood, he also didn’t feel Mexican enough.

Huffington Post Talks About Ammar's Heritage as an Asset

Huffington Post

"Ammar Campa-Najjar is hoping to draw from his American, Mexican and Palestinian heritages to unite the communities in California’s 50th Congressional District, which has voted Republican for over 30 years..."

NBC Profiles Our Campaign

NBC News

"A young, American-born man of Latino and Arab heritage decided to throw his hat in the political ring after working as a community activist and in the Obama administration..."

SD Tribune: Why Ammar is an Interesting Hunter Opponent

The San Diego Union Tribune

“I don’t come to this race as a Democrat, or as a former Obama administration official. I come as an American,” Ammar says.

From the Barrio to Gaza to the White House

The Washington Post

"However history looks back on this election, I like to believe that many of us will remember what comes next as not only a challenging time for diversity in America but also an empowering one..."

Ammar Published an Op-Ed on His History

The San Diego Union Tribune

"While the debate on the outcome of this election rages on, one thing is abundantly clear: Millions of Americans still struggle with the idea of America. In many ways, America is still ahead of its time. And yet, our warm welcome to the world, engraved on the Statue of Liberty, still rings true for millions of families today: 'Bring me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.' That’s why I love this country..."