Richard Ojeda

Richard Ojeda

Richard Ojeda is an incredibly interesting politician running for President. Ojeda is the current Senator for the State of West Virginia and turned a 46+ district for Trump country to a 12 point raise in a recent election against Carol Miller, an incumbent Republican. Ojeda is not an ordinary Democrat. In the 2016 presidential election, he was a Bernie Sanders supporter that later voted for Trump because he thought the democratic party did not put forth a candidate (Hilary Clinton) that stood for working class citizens. With this type of voting history, one would assume that Ojeda would not be a strong contributor in the fight for progressive ideals. In actuality, Ojeda fought for teachers in West Virginia to give them a pay raise.

With regards to his platform, Ojeda has bold proposals. He believes that everyone who runs for federal office must follow numerous regulations. They can have a maximum net worth of one million dollars. Politicians are allowed a retirement of 130k per year and can still to make up to 250k a year. All of their superfluous earnings must be donated to charity. Additionally, politicians must use the same healthcare as average Americans. For example, if one is a veteran they must go through the VA to receive medical treatment.

In his presidential campaign, Ojeda has multiple intriguing pillars. His main goal is to fight against corruption because the current congressmen “legislate themselves to wealth and are dueling for the lobbyists”. He supports getting big money out of politics. With regards to abortion, Ojeda believes in the women’s right to choose and plans on increasing planned parenthood’s funding. He proposes a Medicare for all health care system that includes congress, senate, and president. This Medicare for all system “will save employers and workers money”. Interestingly, Ojeda would prohibit individuals from buying an extra Medicare plan because it would force the baseline program to be sufficient for everyone. Additionally, Ojeda supports DACA and wants to a quicker path to citizenship. On the issue of guns, Ojeda has a different view from most Democrats. He believes that if one is not a criminal and doesn't have mental health issues then they should be able to get a gun. However, he believes it is important to get rid of the gun show loophole, allow background checks, and get rid of bump stocks.

Overall, Ojeda is a really interesting candidate because he comes from “Trump Country” and holds certain conservative views: regarding the 2nd amendment and the coal industry. However, he is running as a progressive because he wants to fight against corruption and for the “average working American”.