By Arturo Castañares 
Editor-at-Large

A local congressional candidate has filed to use misleading ballot titles as he runs for office again after losing three previous campaigns. 

Ammar Campa-Najjar, 37, a Democrat running for Congress in the 48th District in North County, requested to identify himself as “Navy Officer/Educator” in the June 2nd Primary Election, but the titles give voters a false sense of his true background.

Official Ballot for June 2nd Primary Election

 

On March 13th, La Prensa San Diego was the first to report that Campa-Najjar was violating U.S. military regulations by failing to properly identify himself as a “Reserve Officer” instead of active duty personnel. 

Campa-Najjar became a Direct Commission Officer (DCO) in the Navy Reserves in 2023. Direct commissions allow professionals with specialized skills to become Restricted Line Officers after completing a 5-week training course, instead of the standard 12-week Officer Candidate School (OCS) training for Unrestricted Line Officers. DCO’s serve in limited fields like public affairs, intel, cyber, law, engineering, and medical, but cannot command units at sea or lead operational combatant commands. Campa-Najjar serves as a public affairs officer.

Former US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg also became a DCO in 2009 after graduating from Harvard and later from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. Buttigieg was commissioned as an intelligence officer and deployed to Afghanistan in 2014.

Department of Defense Directive 1344.10 requires non-active duty military personnel to “clearly indicate their retired or reserve status" when referencing their service.”

Campa-Najjar repeatedly failed to use “Reserve” in any of his campaign’s materials, website, and emails before La Prensa San Diego exposed the misleading titles last month.

The Department of Defense Inspector General conducted an investigation and detailed that Campa-Najjar’s chain of command “enacted corrective action” and that “Campa-Najjar’s official campaign page’s photos and disclaimer have been edited to comply with DoDD 1344.10."

It is not clear whether Campa-Najjar faced any disciplinary actions for his misconduct.

Campa-Najjar submitted his official candidate ballot title before the inspector general’s investigation, but the ballots had already been sent to print by the time the Navy forced Campa-Najjar to correct his campaign materials, so voters will still see the inaccurate title. 

The other misleading title Campa-Najjar used for the ballot is “Educator.”

Campa-Najjar began using that title last summer after he was accepted to a masters program at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He has referred to himself as an “educator” and that he was “teaching” at the prestigious university even before classes started in September.

But Campa-Najjar is not a professor or lecturer at Georgetown. He is a graduate student and teaching assistant to a professor in the Political Science department.

Campa-Najjar's acceptance letter from Georgetown University

 

La Prensa San Diego asked Georgetown University for details on Campa-Najjar’s employment and responsibilities, but only received a vague response attributed to a “spokesperson.”

“We are grateful for the dedicated work of graduate student assistants in supporting our educational and research mission. Each academic department hires graduate students based on its specific needs and criteria, in accordance with the University’s applicable hiring practices.

Campa-Najjar is not listed on any Georgetown University documents as an instructor, teacher, or professor.

A professor who teaches undergraduate political science classes confirmed Campa-Najjar is working with him.

“I can confirm that Ammar is working with me as an instructor for GOVT 1200,” Professor Hans Noel responded by email.

Georgetown's Faculty Handbook requires that an "Instructor" have at least "Candidacy for the Ph.D., M.F.A., J.D., M.D., or other recognized terminal degree." 

Campa-Najjar earned a dual Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy and Psychology from San Diego State University, but does not have an advanced degree.

An article in the September issue of the Georgetown student newspaper, The Hoya, titled “GU Graduate Student Runs for Congress” described Campa-Najjar as a “graduate student” and a “teaching assistant.”

“Until November, Campa-Najjar will remain at Georgetown, where he is also a teaching assistant for The U.S. Political System, an introductory class in the department of government that provides an overview of U.S. politics and governance,” the Hoya article stated. “He will take a leave of absence from his studies at Georgetown, where he is pursuing a master’s degree in conflict resolution, to begin his congressional campaign."

In October, Campa-Najjar posted a selfie on social media of himself in an empty classroom with the caption, “Back in DC this morning to teach one of my Georgetown Government classes. These bright students give me hope,” Campa-Najjar wrote.

Under California Elections law, candidates can list their “profession, vocation, or occupation" as that are defined as their field of employment, trade, or means of making a living. Campa-Najjar’s reserve military service is part-time and his teaching assistant position was part-time through December when he took a leave of absence from Georgetown to focus on his campaign. He is not currently attending classes in Washington, D.C.

Campa-Najjar is running for the 48th Congressional District, although he does not live nor is registered to vote within the District; instead, he lives with and is registered to vote at the home of his longtime partner, Congresswoman Sara Jacobs, who represents the 51st Congressional District where her home is located.

Under election laws, candidates and members of Congress only have to live within their state, not necessarily within their own district.

But, during the 2020 election for the same congressional seat, Campa-Najjar criticized both former Congressman Darrell Issa and former San Diego City Councilman Carl DeMaio as “carpetbaggers” for not living within the district.

Campa-Najjar's social media post from his mother's home in Jamul.

 

Campa-Najjar previously ran for Congress in 2018, losing to incumbent Congressman Duncan D. Hunter. The following election cycle, Campa-Najjar again challenged Hunter, who at the time was under indictment for campaign violations. Former Congressman Darrell Issa also ran and eventually defeated Campa-Najjar.

In 2022, Campa-Najjar ran for Mayor of Chula Vista against Councilman John McCann. Although the City has a 2 to 1 Democratic to Republican voter registration advantage, McCann, a registered Republican, defeated Campa-Najjar after McCann raised concerns over his residency outside of the City. Campa-Najjar used his relative's address in Chula Vista, but was confirmed to be living with Jacobs at her Banker's Hill condominium in San Diego.

Jacobs a granddaughter of QUALCOMM Co-Founder Irwin Jacobs.

In this race, Campa-Najjar initially campaigned against incumbent Congressman Darrell Issa, but on the last day of the filing period on March, County Supervisor Jim Desmond filed to run and Issa decided not to seek re-election. Desmond has represented areas of the 48th District on the County Board of Supervisors, and also served as Mayor and Councilman in the City of San Marcos within the same district.

Campa-Najjar is also facing eight other Democrats in the June 2nd Primary Election, including San Diego City Councilwoman Marni von Wilpert, and California Board of Equalization Member Mike Schaefer.

The top two candidates in the Primary will face off in the November 2 General Election.