KPBS Midday Edition

Ammar Campa-Najjar Discusses His Second Run For Congress

By Maureen Cavanaugh / KPBS Midday Edition Co-Host, Brooke Ruth / Senior Producer of Audio News

Published February 5, 2020 at 10:58 AM PST

This story was published more than 4 years ago.

Ammar Campa-Najjar speaks with the media outside the federal courthouse downtown, August 23, 2018.

Ammar Campa-Najjar Discusses His Second Run Congress

Three Republicans and one Democrat are the major candidates trying to succeed former Republican Congressman Duncan D. Hunter, who resigned in January after pleading guilty to misspending campaign funds.

One of the most high-profile races in San Diego County is the contest in the 50th Congressional District.

There are four leading candidates trying to succeed former Republican Congressman Duncan D. Hunter, who resigned in January after pleading guilty to misspending campaign funds.

Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar is one of them. He ran against Hunter in 2018 and lost by fewer than 9,000 votes. The top two vote-getters in the March 3 primary will advance to the November general election.

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The 50th Congressional District is a traditionally conservative and has had Duncan Hunter, father or son, as its representative for 40 years. The district has a population of 750,000 and covers much of north and east San Diego County.

Campa-Najjar joined Midday Edition on Wednesday to talk about his second run for Congress.

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Maureen Cavanaugh

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Maureen Cavanaugh has been a familiar voice for KPBS listeners for more than 15 years, serving in a variety of capacities including announcer, host, and producer. As host of KPBS Midday Edition, Maureen has interviewed a wide range of notables, such as comedienne Sandra Bernhardt, actor John Lequizamo, author Chuck Palahniuk, composer Marvin Hamlisch, artist Robert Irwin, and designer Zandra Rhodes. But of all the interviews Maureen has conducted, her most special was with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Before joining KPBS in 1997, she worked as a news anchor for KSDO and KOGO News Radio in San Diego. While working for commercial radio stations in San Diego and in Salt Lake City, Utah, Maureen reported on both hard news and lifestyle features. Maureen has received three "Golden Mike" awards from the Radio and TV News Association of Southern California for economic reporting and breaking news. She has also received a "Best of Show" and “Best Radio Newscast” awards from the San Diego Press Club and the "Flo" Award from Public Radio Program Directors Association for Best Public Radio Announcer in a large market. Maureen is a native of Queens, New York, but after more than 20 years in San Diego she feels she qualifies as a real Southern Californian.

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Brooke Ruth

Brooke Ruth is the senior producer of Audio News. She previously served as a producer for "KPBS Midday Edition" and a web producer. Before joining KPBS, Brooke was a web editor for four newspapers and a local television station. She began her career in news at the Imperial Valley Press. She has also been part of the web teams at the Napa Valley Register, North County Times, and U-T San Diego. While pursuing her undergraduate degree at UCLA in psychology, she worked on the student newspaper, the Daily Bruin.

See stories by Brooke Ruth