{"biography":"Richard Neece Ojeda\u202fII is the Democratic nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives in North Carolina\u2019s 9th Congressional District in the 2026 election.  To serve in the House a candidate must be at least 25 years old, have been a U.S. citizen for at least seven years, and reside in the state they wish to represent\u202f[1].  Ojeda meets all of those constitutional requirements and is seeking to succeed incumbent Republican Rep.\u202fRichard Hudson.\n\nOjeda was born on September\u202f25,\u202f1970 in Rochester, Minnesota and raised in Logan County, West Virginia, where he graduated from Logan High School in 1988\u202f[1][20].  He earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in General Education from West Virginia State University in 1997 and an MBA in Business and Organizational Security from Webster University\u202f[11][20].  He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1989, served 24 years, and retired as a Major in 2013 after two tours in Iraq, a deployment to Afghanistan, and numerous other overseas assignments, earning two Bronze Star Medals\u202f[1][11][18].  After leaving the military he taught Junior ROTC at Chapmanville Regional High School from 2013 to 2017\u202f[11][20].\n\nIn 2016 Ojeda was elected to the West Virginia State Senate representing District\u202f7, serving until January\u202f10,\u202f2019\u202f[1][19].  While in the Senate he championed medical\u2011cannabis legislation, supported the historic 2018 West Virginia teachers\u2019 strike, and positioned himself as a pro\u2011labor, pro\u2011veteran voice\u202f[18][20].  He ran for the U.S. House in West Virginia\u2019s 3rd District in 2018, losing to Republican Carol\u202fMiller\u202f[7][8][18].  In November\u202f2018 he announced a bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, becoming the second sitting office\u2011holder to do so, but suspended the campaign in January\u202f2019\u202f[5][18].  He later sought the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate in West Virginia in 2020, losing the primary to Paula\u202fJean\u202fSwearengin\u202f[11][20].\n\nAfter those statewide campaigns Ojeda relocated to North Carolina, where he filed to run for Congress in the 9th District.  He won the Democratic primary on March\u202f3,\u202f2026 with 41.8\u202f% of the vote (18,437 votes) against three opponents\u202f[1][2].  The general election is set for November\u202f3,\u202f2026, where he will face incumbent Rep.\u202fRichard\u202fHudson (R) and Independent Tita\u202fHunter\u2011Herod\u202f[1][2][6].\n\nOjeda\u2019s current campaign emphasizes \u201cVeterans, Education, Working Families, and North Carolina\u2019s future.\u201d  The campaign website lists priorities such as improving VA care and mental\u2011health services for veterans, raising teacher pay and reducing student\u2011debt, protecting Medicare and Medicaid, expanding Social Security benefits, and investing in agriculture and skilled\u2011trade jobs\u202f[13][15].  He stresses a grassroots, small\u2011donor approach and claims to have taken no corporate PAC money\u202f[13][15].  The platform reflects his long\u2011standing focus on labor rights, veterans\u2019 issues, and rural economic development, themes that have defined his public service from the Army to the state senate.\n\nOverall, Ojeda brings a blend of military leadership, legislative experience, and a history of populist campaigning to a race that could be competitive in a district that has swung between parties in recent cycles.  Voters will be evaluating his record on labor, cannabis legalization, and veteran advocacy alongside his recent relocation to North Carolina and his ability to connect with district\u2011specific concerns.\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Richard Ojeda - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Richard_Ojeda)\n- [2] [North Carolina's 9th Congressional District election, 2026 - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/North_Carolina's_9th_Congressional_District_election,_2026)\n- [3] [West Virginia's 3rd Congressional District election, 2018 - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/West_Virginia's_3rd_Congressional_District_election,_2018)\n- [4] [West Virginia State Senate District 7 - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/West_Virginia_State_Senate_District_7)\n- [5] [Richard Ojeda suspends 2020 presidential campaign \u2013 Ballotpedia News](https://news.ballotpedia.org/2019/01/27/richard-ojeda-suspends-2020-presidential-campaign/)\n- [6] [Richard Hudson - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Richard_Hudson)\n- [7] [West Virginia's 3rd Congressional District - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/West_Virginia's_3rd_Congressional_District)\n- [8] [Battleground Friday: West Virginia's 3rd Congressional District - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Battleground_Friday:_West_Virginia's_3rd_Congressional_District)\n- [9] [OJEDA, RICHARD NEECE SENATOR II - Candidate overview - FEC.gov](https://www.fec.gov/data/candidate/H8WV03048/)\n- [10] [Richard Ojeda - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Ojeda)\n- [11] [Richard Ojeda - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Ojeda)\n- [12] [2026 United States House of Representatives elections in North Carolina - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections_in_North_Carolina)\n- [13] [Vote Ojeda \u2013 A Look at The Work of Richard Ojeda](https://voteojeda.com/)\n- [14] [Vote Smart | Facts For All](https://justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate/political-courage-test/147777/richard-ojeda-ii)\n- [15] [Richard Ojeda for NC09 - United We Win](https://ojedafornc.com/)\n- [16] [Richard Ojeda for NC09 - Richard Ojeda for NC09](https://ojedafornc.com/about-richard-ojeda/)\n- [18] [9 things to know about Richard Ojeda \u2013 Center for Public Integrity](https://publicintegrity.org/politics/elections/presidential-profiles-2020/richard-ojeda-candidate/)\n- [19] [State Senator Richard Ojeda | BillTrack50](https://www.billtrack50.com/legislatordetail/22224)\n- [20] [Who is Richard Ojeda? | wusa9.com](https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/nation-world/who-is-richard-ojeda/507-8454da34-2530-4fa6-b7e6-8a9692d4779b)","campaigns":[{"contest":"us_house_009","county":"alamance","county_count":7,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"Us House Of Representatives District 09"},{"contest":"us_house_009","county":null,"county_count":0,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"Us House Of Representatives District 09"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Richard","fullname":"Richard Neece Ojeda II","lastname":"Ojeda","middlename":"Neece","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"us_house_009","contest_title":"Us House Of Representatives District 09","county":"alamance","county_count":7,"electiondate":"2026-11-03","office_county":null,"office_key":"us_house","office_title":"U.S. Representative","party":"DEM","pgr":"general","state":"NC"},{"contest":"us_house_009","contest_title":"Us House Of Representatives District 09","county":null,"county_count":0,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":null,"office_key":"us_house","office_title":"U.S. Representative","party":"DEM","pgr":"general","state":"NC"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"us_house_009","contest_title":"Us House Of Representatives District 09","county":null,"county_count":0,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":null,"office_key":"us_house","office_title":"U.S. Representative","party":"DEM","pgr":"general","state":"NC"},"party":"DEM","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"us_house","office_title":"U.S. Representative","state":"NC","terms":[]}],"suffix":"II","summary":"Richard Ojeda, a former West Virginia state senator and Army major, is the Democratic nominee for North Carolina\u2019s 9th congressional district in 2026.","terms":[],"token":"42fbc0186a199679"}