Richard Ojeda

Richard Neece Ojeda II ( ; born October 25, 1970) is an American politician and retired United States Army major who served in the West Virginia Senate representing the 7th district from January 2017 until January 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he ran a brief campaign for President of the United States in the 2020 election.

Raised in Logan, West Virginia, Ojeda graduated from West Virginia State University and Webster University. He initially joined the United States Army as an enlisted soldier and went through officer training after finishing college. During his 25 years in the military, Ojeda earned two Bronze Star Medals and rose to the rank of major. He served two tours of duty in Iraq and spent over fifteen years during his service at Fort Bragg near Fayetteville, North Carolina. After retiring, he initially worked as a Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps teacher before running for office.

Ojeda was elected to the West Virginia Senate in 2016. He received national attention during his 2018 campaign for the United States House of Representatives, when he became a vocal supporter of the 2018 teachers' strike and advocated for the legalization of cannabis in West Virginia. In November 2018, Ojeda announced his candidacy for president in the 2020 election, but he dropped out in January 2019 when his campaign failed to gain traction. In January 2020, Ojeda announced he would instead challenge incumbent U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito in the 2020 election, but he failed to secure the Democratic nomination in the primary. He has since moved back to North Carolina, and won the Democratic primary for North Carolina's 9th congressional district in the 2026 election in March 2026.

Early life and education Ojeda was born in Rochester, Minnesota, the son of Florena (Pansera) and Richard N. Ojeda. He was born into a Democratic family and he registered as a Democrat. He remarked that "back when I was in high school, being a Republican was like cursing". Ojeda's paternal grandfather, Senon H. Ojeda, was an immigrant from the Mexican state of Jalisco who came to West Virginia during the coal boom to try and make a living, and later gained citizenship. One of Ojeda's grandparents died in a mining accident after fighting in World War II. Ojeda's father was born in the United States, but moved to Mexico and lived there until the age of eight. Ojeda's father worked as a nurse anaesthetist. Ojeda also has Italian ancestry.

Ojeda graduated from Logan High School in 1988.

Military service and teaching career

Ojeda said "Where I come from, when you graduate high school, there’s only three choices—dig coal, sell dope, or join the Army. And I chose the military". He served 25 years in the United States Army, starting as an enlisted soldier before going through officer training and rising to the rank of major. In 2004, he assumed command of a company in the 20th Engineer Brigade and immediately deployed with them to Iraq as part of the Iraq War. He earned two Bronze Stars. He helped start a Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps at a local high school. He established a social services nonprofit, the Logan Empowerment Action and Development, which engaged in community cleanup, Christmas toy drives, providing meals for the needy, and raising money for shoes for kids. During this time, Ojeda also started penning letters to the editor of the Logan Banner. As a result, Ojeda was invited by Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia to the 2013 State of the Union address as a guest. Ojeda decided to enter politics while listening to Manchin discuss disparities in allocation of "manufacturing hubs" to different regions of West Virginia.

West Virginia Senate Ojeda was assaulted at a primary campaign event on May 8, 2016, in Logan County, West Virginia. The assailant, Jonathan S. Porter, who had ties to Ojeda's opponent, received 1–5 years in prison, and a $500 fine as a part of a plea deal. Ojeda went on to win the Democratic primary for the 7th District of the West Virginia Senate, defeating incumbent Art Kirkendoll.

In the West Virginia Senate, Ojeda sponsored the West Virginia Medical Cannabis Act, legislation to legalize medical marijuana, which was signed into law by Governor Jim Justice on April 19, 2017. He told Politico that he voted for Trump because he initially believed Trump would do something for West Virginians. By 2018, he expressed regret for voting for Trump, saying that "he hasn't done shit" and he is "taking care of the daggone people he's supposed to be getting rid of". Ojeda said he supported Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic primary.

Ojeda resigned from the West Virginia Senate on January 14, 2019, citing frustration with the legislature's slow pace and his inability to accomplish all his legislative goals.

Teacher strikes Ojeda rose to prominence for his early support of and leading role in the 2018 West Virginia teachers' strike. Due to his active and vocal support of the strikes, Ojeda was said by some to have attained something of a "folk hero" status with teachers and other unionists. He was regularly met by chants of his last name and other expressions of appreciation and commendation while traveling the state to speak out in support of the strikers (and later his Congressional bid).

2018 U.S. House campaign in West Virginia

Ojeda ran for West Virginia's 3rd congressional district, a seat which was vacated by Republican Evan Jenkins, who filed instead to run in the primary for the U.S. Senate. His campaign was staffed in part by local residents who were working on the campaign without pay, and held private jobs while working on the campaign.

Salon noted that Ojeda's race was a potential bellwether, noting that "Ojeda is no stranger to converting Trump supporters: He won his state Senate election by 18 points, in a district Trump carried by 59."

During the campaign, Ojeda agreed to an interview for Michael Moore's documentary, Fahrenheit 11/9. Ojeda's off the cuff unpolished pronouncements were used by opponent Carol Miller's campaign to bring under question Ojeda's patriotism while labeling him as unhinged.

As the polling began to indicate a tight race, President Trump traveled to West Virginia in October to campaign for Miller. On the stump, Trump mocked Ojeda while making a point of pronouncing Ojeda's last name while affecting an Hispanic accent. According to FiveThirtyEight, Ojeda outperformed his district's partisan lean by 25%, the strongest showing for a non-incumbent.

2020 presidential campaign

In November 2018, Ojeda filed with the Federal Election Commission, officially becoming a candidate for President of the United States. His campaign was announced on November 11, at a rally in Louisville, Kentucky, which consisted mostly of union members. His campaign focuses included ending government corruption and returning the Democratic Party to a party that benefited the working class.

He resigned from the West Virginia Senate on January 9, 2019, to focus on his presidential bid. A few days after, Ojeda asked the Senate Minority Leader (a Democrat) if he could rescind his resignation, with the Senate Minority Leader telling Ojeda to talk to the Senate President (a Republican) because that is to whom he sent the resignation letter. The Republican governor, Jim Justice, seated lobbyist Paul Hardesty in Ojeda's vacant seat.

Endorsements

2020 U.S. Senate campaign in West Virginia

On January 13, 2020, Ojeda announced his campaign for the United States Senate, hoping to challenge incumbent Shelley Moore Capito. On June 9, 2020, Ojeda was defeated in the primary election by five points, winning 33% of the vote, as opposed to Paula Jean Swearengin's 38%. Following the primary, Ojeda endorsed Swearengin for the general election.

2026 U.S. House Campaign in North Carolina

Ojeda moved back to North Carolina in 2020, where he had previously lived for over fifteen years during his military career. Ojeda announced a campaign for North Carolina's 9th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives in 2025. By October 2025, Ojeda raised $1.2 million from 20,000 donors with an average contribution of $16 each, in his bid to oust National Republican Congressional Committee Chair Richard Hudson.

On March 3, 2026, he won the Democratic nomination for the district. His win was praised by the North Carolina AFL-CIO, which cited his work as a "very strong advocate for unions" in a race roundup article. After his victory, he was a keynote speaker at a Fayetteville No Kings rally.

Political positions Ideological orientation Ojeda has been described by some as a populist of the "left-wing variety". He identifies as a traditional working-class Democrat and laments what he perceives as a Democratic party that is increasingly drifting away from its working-class roots and becoming a party of the elite. He has also been described as a moderate Democrat and he stated that he voted for President Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election (a decision he later regretted). He describes himself as a "conservative on most cultural issues" who supports coal jobs and border security.

Taxes Ojeda was one of the few West Virginia lawmakers who came out outspokenly in favor of raising taxes on corporations and the rich, calling for higher corporate taxes (particularly on coal and gas corporations that were the major economic players in WV) to offset spending cuts that had negatively affected public services and employees in the state.

Labor rights Ojeda is devoutly pro-union and received $121,440 during his 2018 campaign from several unions, including the American Federation of Teachers and the Teamsters' Union. In his 2026 North Carolina campaign, Ojeda received an endorsement from the NC AFL-CIO. He supports expanding Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits, particularly around mental health care.

Gun control On gun control, Ojeda has early in his political career been described as pro-gun. In 2018, he stated that increased services for the mentally ill would help ease gun violence. At the time, he noted that he supported the Second Amendment and does not believe additional restrictions are needed.

However, on August 8, 2019, following the Dayton and El Paso shootings, Ojeda shifted his position and called pro-gun rights politicians "spineless pieces of shit" who "didn't have the balls" to take on the NRA.

Foreign policy Ojeda, on his Twitter account has posted several tweets opposed to Saudi Arabia and the intervention it leads in support of the Yemeni government against the Iranian-backed Houthis that had taken over much of Yemen's north including its capital, Sanaa, he stated that the US should end support for Saudi Arabia and end arms deals with the nation, he also condemned the country for the alleged involvement of the Saudi government in Jamal Khashoggi's death.

Regarding Iran, Ojeda has stated he would not support a war with Iran.

Abortion Ojeda self-identifies as pro choice. He supports abortion rights and that he would only nominate judges who likewise shared his support for access to abortion. He said that he hates "the idea of telling a woman what to do with her body" and noted that he supported Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood in an interview with The Guardian in 2018. He has also voiced opposition to the Helms Amendment that limits the United States in assistance to abortion through foreign aid, saying, "a woman raped by the Taliban or Boko Haram should not be forced by the callousness of our government to bear her rapist’s child". Ojeda in 2018 stated that Congress and the president should be barred from taking out extra insurance, and should instead have to rely on the standard healthcare which would be afforded every American citizen for the course of their terms of office, to incentivize them in promoting and maintaining quality comprehensive universal healthcare coverage.

Environment Ojeda has called for sustainable energy. As Trump's administration began enacting immigration policy changes, Ojeda shifted leftward in response. In his 2026 congressional campaign, Ojeda has identified changing federal immigration policy as his top priority, and has been critical of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids. Ojeda supports Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and a pathway to citizenship for "Dreamers". During his tenure as state senator, Ojeda spearheaded the passage of a bill legalizing medical marijuana. He advocates directing funds raised from taxes on cannabis sales to fund public works.

Campaign finance, political ethics, and transparency As described by Ojeda, his presidential campaign focused on "lobbying and corruption in Washington", and proposed measures to address political ethics. He is a supporter of WolfPAC, and has pledged not to take corporate donations for his campaign.

Electoral history