Richard Ojeda facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Richard Ojeda
Member of the West Virginia Senate from the 7th district
In office January 11, 2017 – January 9, 2019
Preceded by	Art Kirkendoll
Succeeded by	Paul Hardesty
Personal details
Born	(1970-10-25) October 25, 1970 (age 54) Rochester, Minnesota, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Kelly Ojeda
Children	3
Education	West Virginia State University (BA) Webster University (MBA)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1989–2014
Rank	Major
Unit	10th Mountain Division 20th Engineer Brigade
Battles/wars	War in Afghanistan Iraq War
Awards	Bronze Star Medal (2) Full list Meritorious Service Medal (2) Army Commendation Medal (7) Army Achievement Medal (5) Good Conduct Medal National Defense Service Medal Afghanistan Campaign Medal Iraq Campaign Medal GWOT Expeditionary Medal GWOT Service Medal Korea Defense Service Medal Armed Forces Service Medal Humanitarian Service Medal Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal Army NCO PD Ribbon Army Service Ribbon Overseas Service Ribbon (4) NATO Medal Valorous Unit Award Meritorious Unit Commendation (4) Superior Unit Award Combat Action Badge Master Parachutist Badge Air Assault Badge Bronze De Fleury Medal Sapper Tab Canadian, Venezuelan, German, Chilean, Kuwaiti, Egyptian and Pakistani parachutist badges German Schützenschnur (Bronze)

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

Richard Ojeda grew up in Logan, West Virginia. He went to West Virginia State University and Webster University. He first joined the United States Army as an enlisted soldier. Later, he became an officer after finishing college. During his 25 years in the military, Ojeda earned two Bronze Star Medals. He reached the rank of major. After leaving the military, he taught in a Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps program. Then, he decided to run for public office.

Ojeda was elected to the West Virginia Senate in 2016. He gained national attention during his 2018 campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives. He strongly supported the 2018 West Virginia teachers' strike. ..... In November 2018, Ojeda announced he would run for president in the 2020 election. However, he stopped his campaign in January 2019 because it did not gain enough support. In January 2020, Ojeda announced he would challenge U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito. He ran in the 2020 election, but he did not win the Democratic nomination. He has since moved to North Carolina. He announced he would run for North Carolina's 9th congressional district in the 2026 election.

Early Life and Education

Richard Ojeda was born in Rochester, Minnesota. His parents were Florena and Richard N. Ojeda. He grew up in a family that supported the Democratic Party.

Ojeda's grandfather came to West Virginia from Mexico. He came during a time when many people moved there to work in coal mines. He later became a U.S. citizen. Ojeda's father was born in the U.S. and worked as a nurse anesthetist. Ojeda also has Italian family roots.

Ojeda finished high school at Logan High School in 1988. He earned a bachelor's degree from West Virginia State University. He later got a master's degree from Webster University.

Military Service and Teaching Career

Ojeda (left) in Haiti in 2010, helping with relief efforts after the 2010 earthquake

..... He chose the military. He served 25 years in the United States Army. He started as an enlisted soldier and later became an officer. He reached the rank of major. He earned two Bronze Stars for his service. During his time in the military, he served in South Korea, Honduras, Jordan, Haiti, Afghanistan, and Iraq. He was part of the 20th Engineer Brigade.

After retiring from the military, Ojeda became a Junior ROTC instructor. He taught at Chapmanville Regional High School from 2013 to 2017. He left this job because of his duties as a state senator and his run for Congress. He helped start a Junior ROTC program at a local high school. He also created a non-profit group called Logan Empowerment Action and Development. This group helped with community cleanups, Christmas toy drives, and providing meals for people in need. They also raised money to buy shoes for kids.

During this time, Ojeda began writing letters to the editor of the Logan Banner newspaper. Because of his letters, Senator Joe Manchin invited Ojeda to be his guest at the 2013 State of the Union address. Ojeda decided to enter politics after hearing Senator Manchin talk about how different parts of West Virginia received unequal support for manufacturing jobs.

Political Career Highlights

Ojeda first entered politics in 2014. He ran for Congress in West Virginia's 3rd District. He received 34% of the vote in the Democratic primary. He lost to the person already holding the office, Nick Rahall. Ojeda believed Rahall was not doing enough for the district.

Serving in the West Virginia Senate

Ojeda was attacked at a campaign event on May 8, 2016, in Logan County, West Virginia. The attacker, Jonathan S. Porter, had connections to Ojeda's opponent. Porter received a prison sentence and a fine. Ojeda went on to win the Democratic primary for the 7th District of the West Virginia Senate. He defeated the person already holding the office, Art Kirkendoll. In the main election on November 8, 2016, he won against Republican Jordan Bridges by a large margin.

..... Governor Jim Justice signed it into law on April 19, 2017.

He also called for higher wages for teachers. He argued that low pay would cause teachers to go on strike or leave the state. In January 2018, he criticized Governor Jim Justice's plan for a small increase in teacher wages. Ojeda said it was not enough.

Ojeda has said he did not often vote for a Democrat for president. He supported Donald Trump in 2016. He told Politico that he voted for Trump because he thought Trump would help West Virginians. By 2018, he said he regretted his vote. He felt Trump had not helped the people he promised to. Ojeda said he supported Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic primary.

Ojeda left the West Virginia Senate on January 14, 2019. He said he was frustrated with how slowly the legislature worked. He felt he could not achieve all his goals.

Supporting Teacher Strikes

Ojeda became well-known for his strong support of the 2018 West Virginia teachers' strike. A month before the strike, Ojeda spoke in the Senate. He urged other lawmakers to listen to teachers' concerns. He warned that a strike would happen if they did not. He then introduced several bills. These bills aimed to help public employees with healthcare and raise their wages. They also sought to give teachers tax deductions for classroom supplies.

Because he actively supported the strikes, many teachers and union members saw Ojeda as a "folk hero." People often chanted his name and showed their appreciation when he traveled to speak. He supported the strikers and later his campaign for Congress.

Ojeda also traveled to California to support the 2019 Los Angeles teachers' strike. He wrote an article in The Intercept saying, "Don’t make us go West Virginia on you."

Running for U.S. House in 2018

Ojeda ran for West Virginia's 3rd congressional district. The seat was open because Republican Evan Jenkins decided to run for the U.S. Senate instead. Ojeda's campaign team included local people who worked without pay. They also held other jobs while campaigning.

Ojeda said his campaign only accepted money from individual donors and labor unions. He won the Democratic primary on May 9, 2018. He defeated Shirley Love, Janice Hagerman, and Paul Davis.

The website Salon.com suggested that Ojeda's race was important. They noted that he had won his state Senate election by a large margin in a district that strongly supported Trump. This showed he could win over Trump supporters.

During his campaign, Ojeda was interviewed for Michael Moore's movie, Fahrenheit 11/9. Some of his direct comments appeared in the movie's trailer. His opponent, Carol Miller, used these comments to question his patriotism. Ojeda disagreed with Miller's criticism in a campaign ad. Ojeda also appeared on The Young Turks show Rebel HQ to discuss his economic ideas.

As polls showed a close race, President Trump visited West Virginia in October to campaign for Miller. Trump made fun of Ojeda and pronounced his last name with an accent.

On November 6, 2018, Ojeda lost the election to Carol Miller. He received 44% of the vote, while Miller received 56%. This was a big improvement for Democrats in that district compared to the previous election.

2020 Presidential Campaign

In November 2018, Ojeda officially became a candidate for President of the United States. He announced his campaign on November 11 at a rally in Louisville, Kentucky. Most attendees were union members. His campaign focused on ending government corruption. He also wanted to bring the Democratic Party back to supporting working-class people. Since no state lawmaker had ever seriously run for president, Ojeda was seen as an "underdog."

He resigned from the West Virginia Senate on January 9, 2019. He did this to focus on his presidential campaign. A few days later, Ojeda asked if he could take back his resignation. The Republican governor, Jim Justice, appointed a lobbyist to fill Ojeda's empty seat.

Ojeda stopped his presidential campaign on January 26, 2019. He said he could not get enough attention from news networks. He felt that running for office required access to a lot of money and power. He announced his withdrawal in a long Facebook live video.

2020 U.S. Senate Campaign

On January 13, 2020, Ojeda announced he would run for the United States Senate. He hoped to challenge the person already holding the office, Shelley Moore Capito. On June 9, 2020, Ojeda lost the primary election. He received 33% of the vote, while Paula Jean Swearengin received 38%. On the night of the primary, Ojeda publicly accepted his loss. He also supported Swearengin as the Democratic Party's candidate for the main election.

2026 U.S. House Campaign

On February 25, 2025, Ojeda announced another campaign for the United States House of Representatives. This time, he is running in North Carolina's 9th congressional district. He made this announcement on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Political Views and Beliefs

Political Style

Some people describe Ojeda as a "populist" who supports working-class people. He is also called a "strong progressive." He sees himself as a traditional working-class Democrat. He believes the Democratic Party has moved away from its working-class roots. In the 2016 Democratic presidential primary, he said he voted for Independent Senator Bernie Sanders. He has also been called a "moderate Democrat." He stated he voted for President Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election, a decision he later regretted. He describes himself as "conservative on most cultural issues." He supports coal jobs and border security.

Taxes

Ojeda was one of the few lawmakers in West Virginia who openly supported raising taxes on large companies and wealthy people. He called for higher taxes on coal and gas companies. He believed this would help make up for budget cuts that hurt public services and employees in the state.

Workers' Rights

Ojeda strongly supports labor unions. He has received money from several unions, including the American Federation of Teachers and the Teamsters' Union. Ojeda is against "right-to-work" laws, which can weaken unions.

Gun Control

Ojeda has been described as supportive of gun rights. He has said he agrees that better mental health services could help reduce gun violence. He also supports the Second Amendment and does not believe more gun restrictions are needed.

However, after the Dayton and El Paso shootings in August 2019, Ojeda called for stronger gun restrictions. He criticized politicians who supported gun rights, saying they were afraid to challenge the NRA.

Foreign Policy

On his Twitter account, Ojeda has posted messages against Saudi Arabia. He opposes Saudi Arabia's actions in Yemen. He believes the U.S. should stop supporting Saudi Arabia and end arms deals with them. He also condemned Saudi Arabia for its alleged role in Jamal Khashoggi's death.

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

Healthcare

Ojeda supports Medicare for All. This idea would create a healthcare system where everyone has coverage. He has also said that members of Congress and the president should not be allowed to have special health insurance. Instead, they should use the same healthcare system as all other American citizens. He believes this would encourage them to create and maintain good universal healthcare for everyone.

Environment

Ojeda has called for using sustainable energy sources. He supports a Green New Deal.

Ojeda has noted that anthracite coal, found in his home state, will likely still be used for making steel. However, he has admitted that coal mining "is not gonna come back." He wants to find ways for miners to get other good-paying jobs.

During his 2018 campaign for Congress, Ojeda praised the Trump administration's plan. This plan aimed to reduce environmental rules from the Obama administration. Ojeda stated it would help the coal industry. He said it would help put more West Virginians to work in his district.

Immigration

Ojeda supports Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). This program protects young immigrants who came to the U.S. as children. He also supports a way for "Dreamers" to become citizens.

When explaining why he voted for Trump in 2016, Ojeda mentioned Trump's views on reducing immigration. He also cited Trump's stance on limiting the number of refugees. Ojeda said that people felt it was unfair for undocumented immigrants to receive benefits when American citizens were struggling. He believed Trump's promise to prioritize citizens sounded good to many.

Pharmaceutical Companies

Ojeda has spoken out against the pharmaceutical industry. .....

Campaign Finance and Ethics

Ojeda's campaign focused on "lobbying and corruption in Washington." He has suggested ways to improve political ethics. Ojeda has proposed requiring lobbyists to wear body cameras. He believes this would make government more open and allow the public to see what is happening. He supports Wolf PAC, a group that works to reduce the influence of money in politics. He has also promised not to take money from corporations for his campaigns.

Ojeda has suggested that elected officials and Cabinet members should donate any personal wealth over one million dollars to charity. He believes this would stop them from using their public office to get rich. He also proposed that after leaving office, these officials should have a yearly earnings limit of $120,000 (plus a pension). This limit would adjust for the cost of living each year.

Ojeda has called for "donor vouchers." These would be funds given to individual voters. Voters could then donate small amounts of money to the candidate of their choice. This would give individual voters, especially those with less money, more power in elections.

Images for kids

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  Richard Ojeda's official portrait.