Ammar Campa-Najjar is the Democratic candidate running in the 50th congressional district against Carl DeMaio, Darrell Issa, and Brian Jones. This is a politically charged time to be running for office with the impeachment saga being at the forefront of the news cycle for months.
The obvious question for these candidates was how they would vote on impeachment, but when asked, Campa-Najjar said he would have abstained. Once again, Campa-Najjar is desperately trying to put some distance between himself and the Democratic Party.
There are two possible explanations for Campa-Najjar’s actions: the first is that he actually is a moderate and believes in the things that he says. The second is that he’s attempting to appeal to the Republican voters by adding some “conservative” talking points to his platform.
Unfortunately for Campa-Najjar, his tactics are falling short as most voters can see right through his moderate charade and recognize him as a typical far-left Democrat. Even the increasingly left–wing San Diego Union-Tribune noted that “it seemed like his equivocation [on issues like impeachment] in a largely Republican district was more poll-tested than principled.”
Campa-Najjar has been tried to avoid talking about impeachment or taking a firm position on the topic for months. When speaking to the San Diego Union-Tribune, he said, “I’m glad I don’t have to vote.” This is a serious warning flag for voters in the 50th district. This kind of indecisive fence-sitting is not an attractive trait in a candidate, especially one seeking to recreate himself for political appeal. As a representative, he would be expected to make difficult decisions rather than weasel out of those situations with excuses and empty rhetoric.
It’s obvious that Ammar Campa-Najjar is not a candidate that will break the mold and will instead carry the Democratic Party line. He’s more of the same in different packaging. Thankfully, whichever Republican candidate emerges from the primary will likely cruise to a comfortable victory over Campa-Najjar in November.
