Richard Ojeda

Richard Neece Ojeda II (; born September 25, 1970) is an American politician and retired Army Major who served as the West Virginia State Senator from the 7th district from 2016 until his resignation in January 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he briefly ran a campaign for President of the United States in the upcoming 2020 election before dropping out on January 25, 2019.Ojeda received national attention when he became a vocal supporter of the 2018 teachers' strike and advocated for the legalization of cannabis in West Virginia. Ojeda announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States on November 12, 2018. While Ojeda considers himself a moderate, his political views have been likened more to left-wing populism; he has come out in support of Medicare for all, legalization of cannabis, and anti-lobbyism. 2Early life and education Ojeda was born in Rochester, Minnesota, the son of Florena (Pansera) and Richard N. Ojeda. He was born into a Democratic family and he registered as a Democrat. He remarked that "back when I was in high school, being a Republican was like cursing". Ojeda's paternal grandfather was an undocumented immigrant from the Mexican state of Jalisco who came to West Virginia during the coal boom to try and make a living, and later gained citizenship. One of Ojeda's grandparents died in a mining accident after fighting in World War II. Ojeda's father was born in the United States, but moved to Mexico and lived there until the age of 8. Ojeda's father worked as a nurse anaesthetis