Richard Ojeda, a Democrat and retired U.S. Army major who served in the West Virginia Senate from 2017 to 2019, is challenging Republican incumbent Richard Hudson for North Carolina's 9th congressional district in 2026.
2026 Races & Market Forecast
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- Birthplace
- Rochester, Minnesota
- Education
- Logan High School (1988)
West Virginia State University (bachelor's degree in general education)
Webster University (master's degree in business and organizational security)
Biography & Campaign Analysis
Background
Richard Ojeda was born in Rochester, Minnesota, the son of Florena (Pansera) and Richard N. Ojeda, and was raised in Logan, West Virginia. His paternal grandfather, Senon H. Ojeda, was an immigrant from the Mexican state of Jalisco who came to West Virginia during the coal boom.
Ojeda graduated from Logan High School in 1988, then earned a bachelor's degree in general education from West Virginia State University and a master's degree in business and organizational security from Webster University.
Career
Ojeda served 25 years in the U.S. Army, starting as an enlisted soldier and rising to the rank of major after officer training. His first orders sent him to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, in 1997, and he spent more than 15 years based there.
In 2004 he took command of a company in the 20th Engineer Brigade and deployed with it to Iraq, and he earned two Bronze Stars.
After retiring he taught Junior ROTC at Chapmanville Regional High School from 2013 to 2017 and founded a social services nonprofit, Logan Empowerment Action and Development.
Ojeda entered politics in 2014, losing a Democratic primary challenge to U.S. Representative Nick Rahall with 34% of the vote.
In 2016 he was elected to the West Virginia Senate from the 7th district, where he sponsored the West Virginia Medical Cannabis Act, signed into law in April 2017, and supported the 2018 West Virginia teachers' strike.
As the Democratic nominee for West Virginia's 3rd congressional district in 2018, he lost to Republican Carol Miller, 56% to 44%.
He resigned from the state Senate in January 2019 during a presidential campaign that he ended on January 26, 2019, and in 2020 he lost the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate to Paula Jean Swearengin.
2026 race
After moving back to North Carolina in 2020, Ojeda announced in 2025 a campaign for the 9th congressional district, held by Republican Richard Hudson, chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee.
The district includes all of Alamance, Hoke, Moore and Randolph counties and most of Chatham and Guilford counties.
In the Democratic primary on March 3, 2026, Ojeda won with 41.8% of the vote, ahead of law enforcement officer Nigel Bristow (26.7%), pastor Lent Carr (15.8%) and horticultural specialist Loren Bibler (15.7%).
He faces Hudson, who was re-elected with 56.3% of the vote in 2024, in the general election on November 3, 2026.