Campa-Najjar plans leave of absence from Georgetown U. for congressional bid

Congressional candidate Ammar Campa-Najjar said Saturday he plans to take a leave of his absence from his new academic duties at Georgetown University if redistricting opens a path to Democratic victory in the 48th District in 2026.

He has already filed papers for a rematch against Republican Rep. Darrell Issa, whom he lost to by 8 percentage points in 2020.

Campa-Najjar said that if Proposition 50 passes in November, the mid-decade redistricting backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom will make the sprawling East County district competitive, and he will begin a leave in the spring semester to campaign.

A straw poll last Sunday at an online forum hosted by Indivisible North County San Diego found Campa-Najjar favored by 70% of respondents.

Campa-Najjar is set to begin work this fall as a teaching assistant at the prestigious Catholic university in Washington, DC, helping with lectures, discussions, grading, exams and office hours for students in an undergraduate class on the U.S. political system. It’s a paid position, and he’s a member of the graduate employees union.

At the same time, he is also enrolled in a masters degree program in international conflict resolution at the university.

Campa-Najjar, who is a reserve Naval officer with the Pacific Fleet office in Coronado, described his professional focus as “warfighting with the Navy and peacebuilding with this program” at Georgetown.

“This is a dream come true: earning my credentials in international security, peacebuilding, diplomacy, and negotiation while helping educate the next generation of leaders on how our democracy works and the challenges it faces,” he said in a post on X prior to the Legislature’s vote to proceed with Prop. 50.

Campa-Najjar typically accompanies Rep. Sara Jacobs to Washington when the House of Representatives is in session, returning to San Diego on weekends and when Congress is in recess.