The indictment of Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., on corruption charges opens the door to his Democratic challenger, former federal official Ammar Campa-Najjar.
Campa-Najjar’s grandfather, Muhammad Yusuf al-Najjar also known as Abu Yusuf, was a leading member of the terrorist group Black September, which carried out the attack on the 1972 Munich Olympics. Campa-Najjar’s views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are "far removed" from his grandfather’s, whom he never met, he told Haaretz.
"As an American citizen living in the 21st century, I will never be able to understand or condone the actions and motivations of my grandfather," he said in February.
"My dad is a Muslim Palestinian who grew up in Lebanon and Egypt. My mom comes from a Catholic family in Mexico. I attended both Catholic and Muslim schools growing up," Campa-Najjar continued, "I’m proud to be an American of diverse background, like so many Americans who have their origins in different parts of the world."
Campa-Najjar is inexperienced and a virtual unknown in California politics, but with the incumbent facing corruption charges, his chances have greatly improved.
"The question for voters, especially for conservative voters I’ve spoken to, if we have a congressman who can’t follow the law, how can we expect him to enforce the law?" he told The New York Times on Thursday. "I think there’s a dereliction of duty. I don’t think he’s fit to serve."
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