Democrat Richard Ojeda announces Senate bid after dropping out of presidential race

[brooklynite]

Source: The Hill

Former state legislator Richard Ojeda, who briefly launched a bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, will challenge Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) in 2020, he announced Monday.

Ojeda resigned his state Senate seat in early 2019 to mount his bid for the nomination, suspending his presidential campaign the following January. In a letter posted on DemCast Monday, he wrote that around the time he suspended his campaign, he attempted to get his Senate seat back before being told the decision was irreversible.

“After much thought and communication with family and friends I have decided to continue my fight for the state I was raised in and love,” he wrote. “I have decided to take on Shelly Moore Capito in the United States Senate race. I believe Mitch McConnell needs a thorn in his side and nobody is better at that than me ... Richard Ojeda.”

Ojeda, whose brief presidential campaign emphasized an economic populist message, wrote that as a senator he would ensure the coal miners who make up much of the state’s electorate would be able to transition to “real jobs” when coal companies “pull pitch and runs.”

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/478011-democrat-richard-ojeda-announces-senate-bid-after-dropping-out-of

[riversedge]

1. well, I will admit I do not recall him being in the Pres. race, but he was helping

teachers, so I would support him were I in his state.


..........Before running for president, Ojeda, who voted for President Trump in 2016 but later became a vocal critic of his policies, led the state’s 2018 teachers strike.

[Maggiemayhem]

3. He didn't lead the teachers strike, he jumped on the bandwagon.

[Maggiemayhem]

2. Won't he have to beat Paula Jean Swearington in primary?

[brooklynite]

4. Yes...

Swearington appears to be running on more progressive policies. Ojeda may be more in line with WV Dem voters.