Richard Ojeda

Richard Neece Ojeda II (; born September 25, 1970) is an American politician and retired U.S. Army officer. He was the West Virginia State Senator from the 7th district from 2016 to 2019. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
Career.
Ojeda was the Democratic nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives in West Virginia's 3rd congressional district in the 2018 election, but lost that election to Republican Carol Miller.
On November 12, 2018, Ojeda announced his candidacy for President of the United States in the 2020 election. Ojeda was the second office-holding Democrat to announce a campaign for the 2020 U.S. presidential election, the first being Maryland Rep. John Delaney. As no current state legislator has ever made a serious bid for the presidency, Ojeda was considered a "longshot" and "underdog" candidate. On January 26, 2019, Ojeda withdrew from the election.
On January 13, 2020, Ojeda announced his campaign for the United States Senate, challenging incumbent Shelley Moore Capito. However, he lost the nomination to progressive Paula Jean Swearengin.