Ammar Campa-Najjar is a political candidate, independent public affairs consultant, and a former Obama administration official residing in San Diego, California. He is currently the Democratic candidate seeking election to represent California's 50th congressional district in United States Congress. In August 2018 he received the endorsement of former President Barack Obama. ^[1]

Ammar Campa-Najjar was born in the late 1980s in East County, San Diego to parents, Yasser Najjar who is Palestinian American and Abigail Campa who is Mexican American. His mother, Abigail Campa was the Mexican Catholic daughter of an orphaned migrant farmworker.

Ammar Campa-Najjar was raised by his mother since his father moved to Gaza in 1994 when he was only 5-years-old. His father, Yasser Najjar moved to Gaza, to work in the newly formed Palestinian Authority. To provide for her family his mother had to work a series of jobs including working as a family doctor's receptionist, applying to work at Wal-Mart in her 50s, and eventually working in real estate.

"My mom made $16,000 a year raising two kids," he said; speaking about life after his parents' divorce.

He described a ritual his mom performed each month sitting on the bed.

He called it "solitaire", where she would shuffle bills around to see which one she would pay that month. "Sometimes the Wi-Fi went out, sometimes it was the water," he recalled. ^[1]

In 1997, Ammar Campa-Najjar's mother moved the family to Gaza so that he could know his father.

While living in Gaza, Campa-Najjar attended the Holy Family Catholic School run by the Holy Family Church, Gaza.

While living in Gaza, Ammar Campa-Najjar and his family were directly impacted by the Second Intifada a period of intensified Israeli–Palestinian."I watched a Palestinian boy my age get shot and killed while hiding behind a barrel. I didn’t cry when we had to shelter in place at my Catholic school to hide from the bombing. I didn’t cry when a military hummer crashed head on into our car, putting my brother in a coma."

In August 2001, Ammar Campa-Najjar and his mother moved back to San diego without his father. After the September 11 attacks the Islamic School he attended was vandalized and declared unsafe to study or pray in. After returning to San Diego, his family struggled financially, and Campa-Najjar sought work as a janitor in a church, where he later became a youth leader. During high school, he converted from Islam to Christianity.

Ammar Campa-Najjar is the grandson of Muhammad Yusuf Al-Najjar (aka Abu Yusuf), a senior member of the Palestinians terrorist organization Black September, which carried out numerous terror attacks including the Munich massacre where 11 Israeli Olympic athletes were murdered during the 1972 Summer Olympics. In 1973, Mossad agents killed Yusuf al-Najjar and his wife in Beirut in retaliation for the attack. The killing took place in front of Campa-Najjar's father, Yasser Najjar who was only 11-years-old at the time. Najjar traveled through Egypt, Lebanon, and Morocco before moving to the USA at the age of 18.

In an interview with Haaretz, Campa-Najjar spoke about his family history and his views on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, which he says are “far removed” from those of the grandfather he never met. He says that “as an American citizen living in the 21st century, I will never be able to understand or condone the actions and motivations of my grandfather.”

Rabbi Devorah Marcus of the Reform Temple Emanu-El adds that Campa-Najjar “supports Israel and he supports Palestine. He speaks comfortably about the good and the difficulties of both communities. Ammar is someone who understands the value of listening, and he approaches people with a generous spirit and an open heart.”

Ammar Campa-Najjar attended Southwestern College a community college in Chula Vista, California from 2007-2010 before transferring to San Diego State University (SDSU). In 2012, he graduated from San Diego State University with a Bachelor of Arts dual degree in Philosophy and Psychology with a minor in Political Science. Campa-Najjar was a member of the Psi Chi an international honor society in Psychology at SDSU. He was also a member of the university's Philosophy Club.

From January-May 2012, Ammar Campa-Najjar was a Research Assistant at San Diego State University. In this role, he assisted in researching the effects of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) on prospective memory. He scored neurological tests administered to PD group and control Group. Campa-Najjar conducted data analyses to determine statistically significant differences across various populations. He published research results in SDSU’s online Neuropsychology Journal.

In May 2012 Ammar Campa-Najjar was selected as a California Statewide Delegate for the Democratic Party. Delegates were tasked with nominating the President at the 2012 Democratic National Convention as well as committing to working to secure his re-election.

From January-November 2012, he served as Deputy Regional Field Director for President Obama's reelection campaign.

Ammar Campa-Najjar managed the San Diego campaign headquarters and conducted statewide web seminars on campaign messaging, strategy, and team structure. He trained more than 400 volunteer organizers to persuade, educate, and turn out voters in key states. Campa-Najjar taught campaign messaging, strategy and volunteer management techniques to 40 lead organizers. He traveled to meet supporters, discuss the President’s vision, and California’s role in winning reelection. He negotiated lease agreements between the DNC and property owners. To help re-elect the president he established relationships with local officials. Campa-Najjar also delivered campaign speeches at local democratic organizations.

From December 2012- January 2013, Ammar Campa-Najjar was the Regional Service Lead for the Presidential Inaugural Committee.

In this role, he was responsible for managing and mobilizing San Diegans to collaborate with non-profit /government organizations.

Under Campa-Najjar's leadership, San Diego organizers recruited, coordinated and participated in numerous community outreach activities, including:

Following the Second inauguration of Barack Obama, Ammar Campa-Najjar worked as a White House Official in Correspondence in the Executive Office of the President from January-June 2013. When he was unable to afford the move to Washington, DC to take on the position, he secured a loan. In this role, Campa-Najjar serve on the team that selected the 10 letters that the president read every night. He read thousands of letters from Americans, learning about the hopes, fears and daily struggles of people from across the United States. Campa-Najjar describes becoming a White House Official and in the Executive Office of the President as one of the proudest moments of his life.

From May 2013 - January 2016, he worked at the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) as Communications and Marketing Director. In this role, Ammar Campa-Najjar worked to promote the economic growth of the more than 4 million Hispanic-owned small Businesses in the United States. While serving at the USHCC, Ammar supported efforts to help small businesses secure federal contracts as well as procurement opportunities with larger companies seeking to diversify their supply chains with minority-owned firms who reflect the communities they serve.

From January-December 2016, Ammar Campa-Najjar was a Public Affairs Officer in the U.S. Department of Labor. He led the Office of Public Affairs for the Employment and Training Administration (ETA). In this role, He helped promote a nationwide effort to double and diversify the number of Registered Apprenticeships in America, an "an earn while you learn job" that pays workers an average of $60,000 a year. Campa-Najjar also supported: the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) in helping American workers who were laid off due to unfair trade deals; expanding aid for farm workers; launching youth summer jobs programs; advancing veteran employment opportunities; providing vocational training and rehabilitation services to those in the criminal justice system; improving reemployment services; and cracking down on unemployment fraud.

In December 2015, Ammar Campa-Najjar founded ACN Strategies, a strategic communications and media consulting firm. ACN serves a diverse set of clients in the U.S. and abroad, including non-profits, small businesses, large corporations, and political organizations. The company offers services including message and brand development, strategy and planning, coalition building, media relations, crisis communications, as well as social and digital engagement.

On Thursday, April 20, 2017, Ammar Campa-Najjar announced that he would be running to represent California's 50th congressional district in United States Congress for the Democratic Party.

Ammar Campa-Najjar advanced to the general election after coming second in the June 5, 2018 two-top primary. The Republican incumbent, Duncan Hunter got 48.2 percent of the vote and Campa-Najjar got 16.9 percent. The two will face off in the general election for the congressional seat on on November 6, 2018.

In a letter to citizens living in California's 50th congressional district, Campa-Najjar explained why he is running:

Ammar Campa-Najjar believes that to solve the more than 6 million job vacancies in the United States and improve the quality of citizen's jobs the federal government needs to invest in apprenticeship programs. These programs will help connect employers with skilled workers. He also believes that the government should invest in childcare so that more parents can get back into the workforce. While working in the United States Department of Labor he worked on an initiative to double the number of Registered Apprenticeships.

Ammar Campa-Najjar supports comprehensive immigration reform. If elected, he would urge the United States House of Representatives to introduce a modified version of the Senate’s 2013 bipartisan comprehensive immigration bill known as the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013. The bill is more commonly known as the “Gang of Eight Bill,” and passed in the Senate 68-32 but was never introduced in the House.

Ammar Campa-Najjar is a supporter of the DREAM Act and supports a clean Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) bill. To solve short term immigration issues he has pledged to support a bill called the Uniting and Securing America (USA) Act. This bill, introduced by Republican Congressman Will Hurd and Democratic Congressman Pete Aguilar, presents a bipartisan, workable Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)-border security solution. If elected, he would urge his colleagues to break Washington gridlock and bring this bill to a vote.

To prevent American employers from hiring ineligible employees Ammar Campa-Najjar believes that congress should enhance and mandate the E-Verify process for American employers. E-Verify is a web-based system that allows enrolled employers to confirm the eligibility of their employees to work in the United States. E-Verify employers verify the identity and employment eligibility of newly hired employees by electronically matching information provided by employees on the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, against records available to the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Ammar Campa-Najjar is a supporter of universal healthcare. He is committed to improving the Affordable Care Act and transitioning to Medicare for All. If elected, he has pledged to make votes to (1) lower the cost of prescription drugs by having Medicare negotiate prices, (2) provide a public option to compete with the private sector based on who provides lower costs and higher quality service and (3) as a short-term solution, allow individuals ages 50-64 years old to buy into early medicare. He has also pledged to vote for a permanent authorization of the Children's Health Insurance Program.

Campa-Najjar is a supporter of medical cannabis. He will support bills to de-scheduling cannabis and fund research to examine it as a natural alternative to often prescription drugs such as opioids, depressants, and amphetamines.

Ammar Campa-Najjar believes that the federal government needs to invest more in protecting the environment in the United States and especially California's 50th congressional district.

He supports policies including:

Ammar Campa-Najjar is against Citizens United which ruled that the the government cannot restrict independent expenditures in politics. He believes that the ruling should be overturned to reduce the influence of large corporations on elections. Campa-Najjar believes that superdelegates in the Democratic Party should not have more influence than the average American voter. He supports measures to eliminate the influence of Super PACs in elections, whether through a constitutional amendment or by preventing out-of-district special interests from overwhelming local elections. To prevent representatives from becoming career politicians, Campa-Najjar believes that congress should be discussing term limits.

Ammar Campa-Najjar believes that the United States government should invest in universal preschool. He also believes that public funds should go to public schools rather than charter schools. He believes that there is a lack of accountability around charter schools and that there should be a moratorium on large-scale charter schools until charter school reforms are passed.

While working for the Department of Labor, Campa-Najjar worked on promoting tuition-free community college. Inspired by President Obama’s America’s College Promise plan to make two years of community college free for responsible students, America’s Promise grants are designed to accelerate the development and expansion of regional workforce partnerships committed to providing a pipeline of skilled workers in specific sectors. If elected he would focus on increasing federal funding for community colleges in California's 50th congressional district.

Ammar Campa-Najjar believes that the United States government should provide free college to responsible students who need financial aid. To fund this Campa-Najjar would support raising taxes on wealthy Americans and eliminating the use of the use of stepped-up basis in inheritances. The elimination of this policy would increase capital gains tax revenues by $17 billion. He also supports cutting federal spending from departments like the Department of Defense to fund this initiative since these departments will face a growing need for college educated workers. To further reduce the cost of the initiative Campa-Najjar would invest in cheaper alternatives to college such as apprenticeships.

Campa-Najjar believes that the government should forgive student debt for those who devote time out of college toward public service of their choice. Like the GI Bill, he believes that the US should institute a Civilian Bill, where public service is rewarded with a free education.

Ammar Campa-Najjar also supports education policies including: