Elect Ammar Campa-Najjar to push CA-50 in the right direction.

About the Position

The United States is divided into 435 congressional districts, each with a population of about 710,000 individuals. Each district elects a representative to the House of Representatives for a two-year term. California has 53 congressional representatives. There is no term limit for this position.  

About the District

California's 50th Congressional District includes parts of San Diego and Riverside Counties. Republicans typically hold this district. The most recent election results show 54.6 percent of AD-52 voted for Clinton for president in 2016, and 59.1 percent of the district voted for Cox for governor in 2018.

About the Race

In the primary, Democrat challenger Ammar Campa-Najjar led Republican opponent Darrell Issa by a margin of 13.4 percent. Campa-Najjar’s campaign has pledged to refuse corporate PAC money. While his campaign has yet to pledge to refuse fossil fuel or police money, it has not taken such financing. Campa-Najjar’s campaign has raised $2,969,097.44, and top donors are California universities and a Democratic Party–aligned group. Issa’s campaign has raised $5,465,943.21 and is funded by corporate and investment interests, defense contractors, and energy companies.

About the Candidate

Ammar Campa-Najjar was born and raised in San Diego. According to campaign materials, he is running for election because he believes in a fair, just, and inclusive America and wants to carry the hard work of democracy forward.

Campa-Najjar is a San Diego State University lecturer and the owner of a small business that helps other small businesses and nonprofits with small budgets compete against their larger counterparts. Campa-Najjar has served in a White House position in the Executive Office of the President, at the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Campa-Najjar also headed the Office of Public Affairs for the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) at the U.S. Department of Labor. In this role, Campa-Najjar successfully promoted a nationwide effort to expand and diversify the number of registered apprenticeships in America. His efforts helped American workers who were laid off, expanded aid for farmworkers, launched youth job programs, provided vocational training and rehabilitation services to those in the criminal-justice system, and advanced veteran employment opportunities.

That said, in this second attempt at running for Congressional District 50, Campa- Najjar has fallen short in advocating for large structural health-care reform, and has said that he would have abstained from voting on impeachment. In recent weeks, Campa-Najjar provided a problematic and wandering interview to a far-right group, Defend East County. During that conversation, he was noncommittal about supporting Vice President Joe Biden, stated his support for confirming judicial nominee Amy Coney Barrett, and discussed investigating Hillary Clinton and former President Barack Obama. He has issued a public apology for his lack of judgment in participating in the interview, and has strongly condemned Defend East County for their racist threats against Black Lives Matter protesters. While Campa-Najjar has a moderate Democratic platform, and has even claimed that he would be a conservative voice for his district, he has committed to working with local organizations to navigate complex issues and bring meaningful legislation forward to benefit marginalized communities.

Despite his more moderate perspective, Campa- Najjar is endorsed by many progressive groups in the district. The opponent, Republican Darrell Issa, is endorsed by Republican Party figures. The threat of policies from Issa, who is anti-woman, anti-LGBTQIA+, pro–border wall, and a Trump supporter, are significant and underscore the imperative that this seat be held by a Democrat. Ammar Campa-Najjar the strongest choice for equitable and representative leadership in office.