Teen Vogue: Ammar Campa-Najjar Is the First Latinx-Arab American to Run for Congress
By: Brittney McNamara
Source: 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. He read about the risks one elderly woman’s illness posed to her. He soaked in the story of a veteran, who wrote his letter by hand because he had to sell his computer to buy his medication that month. Basically, it was Ammar’s job to read letters about people’s pain. But that pain, Ammar said, the kind that bridges gender, race, age and economic status, is why he’s running. And it’s the reason so many people before him paved the road for him to be able to do so.
With his bid for California’s 50th Congressional District, which covers much of San Diego County, Ammar is the first Latino-Arab American to run for Congress. The son of an Arab father and a Mexican mother, 28-year-old Ammar is at the crux of many issues up for debate on the national stage right now. He was raised Muslim near the California-Mexico border, and has lived in Gaza. But even though his identity has peaked many people’s interests, Ammar said it’s not him he wants people to focus on in this election cycle, it’s the people he wants to serve.
“I got to see first hand the work of government in a way that is so much more in service,” Ammar said of his time working on Obama’s campaign. “I would come home every month to visit people and hear their stories. That relationship…is the reason why we always stayed connected. When the change of hands [of the government happened] I thought it would be the right time to come back and give back. The people of this community gave me that pathway on how to serve them.”
Ammar wrote for the Washington Post about how Trump’s candidacy for President wouldn’t shake his faith in the country — but the President is not the reason Ammar decided to run.
“I’m running for the people of my district. These thousands of young people who have reached out to me and said, ‘we are really inspired by what you’re trying to do. We love your message. We think you could actually make this work,” Ammar said. “Maybe a lot of that was born out of a backlash against Trump, but really it was peoples’ enthusiasm. It was this positive momentum.”
Ammar is one of those young people. He said that he became interested in politics at an early age, and he never thought his age would hold him back. Now, as he makes a bid for Congress, Ammar wants other young people to know they shouldn’t let their birth date be a barrier.
“I have a campaign called 18 by 2018, which focuses on teens who are 16,17 and going to be 18 by election day. It’s a voting block that is sorely overlooked,” he said. “Every 30 seconds a Latino American becomes 18 years old and an eligible voter. They’re the ones who are getting soul crushing debt, the worse calamaties of climate change. That’s something I really believe in. I was animated at a really young age to fight for these things. I’m a firm believer you can never start too soon.”
And even though Ammar said he doesn’t want this race to be about his identity, it does honor those who have come before him to allow Ammar a chance at leadership in America.
“I’m running because I want to, because of the people of this district. They had a hand in raising me, they’re the teachers who educated me and the thousands who have been fighting the good fight since before I’ve been alive,” Ammar said. “They made it possible for someone like me to even enter this race.”
The 50th Congressional District election will take place in November 2018.
