{"id":2587611,"date":"2026-04-06T12:01:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T16:01:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrat-candidate-takes-heat-over-allegedly-exaggerating-his-military-record\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T12:04:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T16:04:21","slug":"democrat-candidate-takes-heat-over-allegedly-exaggerating-his-military-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrat-candidate-takes-heat-over-allegedly-exaggerating-his-military-record\/","title":{"rendered":"Democrat Candidate Takes Heat over Allegedly Exaggerating His Military Record"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdemocrat-candidate-takes-heat-over-allegedly-exaggerating-his-military-record%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2587611&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Democratic candidate ammar Campa-Najjar is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/number-of-migrant-children-in-border-patrol-custody-drops-45-as-biden-admin-transfers-kids-to-hhs\/\" title=\"Number Of Migrant Children In Border Patrol Custody Drops 45% As Biden Admin Transfers Kids To HHS\">facing scrutiny<\/a> for allegedly exaggerating his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sickening-to-watch-deadly-piers-morgan-blisters-mma-match-featuring-openly-transgender-fighter\/\" title=\"\u2018Sickening To Watch,\u2019 \u2018Deadly\u2019: Piers Morgan Blisters MMA Match Featuring Openly Transgender Fighter\">military record<\/a> while campaigning east of San Diego. Even though he has been a U.S. Navy reserve officer since 2023, his campaign materials described him as a \u201cNavy Officer,\u201d a mislabel highlighted by a New York Post report. <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >navy guidelines prohibit overstating military status<\/a> or using photos from military contexts without clear Disclaimers, and questions have been raised about a photo taken at the Massachusetts National Cemetery used for campaign purposes. Campa-Najjar\u2019s campaign says it updated its bio to reflect \u201cNavy Reserve Officer\/College Educator\u201d and insists it complied with DoD directives, while KPBS reports the Navy is looking into the matter; the campaign also stated the Navy has not asked for changes.The controversy includes whether he appropriately represented his service and associations in campaign materials, with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-tells-republicans-to-say-obama-cheated-if-asked-not-appropriate-questions-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Trump tells Republicans to \u2018say Obama cheated\u2019 if asked \u2018not appropriate\u2019 questions - Washington Examiner\">ongoing media scrutiny<\/a> and official review.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>A Democratic candidate for Congress is taking heat for allegedly exaggerating his military record while running for office.<\/p>\n<p>Ammar Campa-Najjar &mdash; who is campaigning to represent a district east of San Diego &mdash; is the boyfriend of California Democratic Rep. Sara Jacobs, who is also the heiress of the fortune behind technology company Qualcomm.<\/p>\n<p>Campa-Najjar has been a U.S. Navy Reserve officer since 2023, but his campaign materials called him a &ldquo;Navy Officer,&rdquo; according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/03\/26\/us-news\/veterans-blast-ca-dem-candidate-who-exaggerated-navy-record\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">report<\/a> from the New York Post.<\/p>\n<p>The Navy nevertheless has policies making clear that candidates for office cannot exaggerate their service, including their service in the Navy Reserve.<\/p>\n<p>Campa-Najjar also took heat for apparently using photos at the Massachusetts National Cemetery for campaign purposes.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadAnyclip() { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst container=document.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!container) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=\"https:\/\/player.anyclip.com\/anyclip-widget\/lre-widget\/prod\/v1\/src\/lre.js\"; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"pubname\", \"westernjournalcom\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"widgetname\", \"001w000001jULVcAAO_M12924\");  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ append inside the container so player shows in correct spot \t\t\t\t\t\tcontainer.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadAnyclip(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #anyclipvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#anyclipvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>He was photographed in front of the grave for Richard K. Stephenson, a veteran of the Korean War who passed away in 1997.<\/p>\n<p>Campa-Najjar&rsquo;s campaign confirmed to the New York Post that the candidate has no connection to Stephenson.<\/p>\n<p>The candidate was &ldquo;participating in an official Memorial Day event where he, alongside his unit, honored fallen service members.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;At no point did the campaign engage in political activity at a VA cemetery, and any suggestion otherwise is a misrepresentation of both the facts and the applicable rules,&rdquo; Andi McNew, his campaign manager, told the outlet.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Ammar has been compliant with (Department of Defense) directives on permissible political activity,&rdquo; McNew also said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The Navy has not requested any changes be made.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>KPBS <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kpbs.org\/news\/military\/2026\/03\/24\/navy-looking-into-campa-najjars-use-of-military-status-in-campaign\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported<\/a> on March 27 that the U.S. Navy is &ldquo;looking into the matter&rdquo; of whether Campa-Najjar broke the rules by exaggerating his service.<\/p>\n<p>Pentagon directives say that reservists &ldquo;must clearly indicate their retired or reserve status&rdquo; when running for office.<\/p>\n<p>They are not allowed to show pictures of themselves in uniform alongside biographical details unrelated to the military unless there is &ldquo;a prominent and clearly displayed Disclaimer that neither the military information nor photographs imply endorsement by the Department of Defense or their particular Military Department.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Campa-Najjar&rsquo;s campaign website indeed prominently features pictures of him in uniform.<\/p>\n<p>The website was updated to say &ldquo;Navy Reserve officer&rdquo; instead of &ldquo;Navy Officer,&rdquo; according to KPBS.<\/p>\n<p>In another statement, his occupation was changed from &ldquo;U.S. Navy Officer&rdquo; and &ldquo;College Educator&rdquo; to &ldquo;U.S. Navy Reserve Officer\/College Educator.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Democratic congressional candidate, Ammar Campa-Najjar, who is running for a district east of San Diego and is dating Rep. Sara Jacobs, is facing criticism for allegedly overstating his military background. Although he has served as a Navy Reserve officer since 2023, his campaign materials described him as a \u201cNavy Officer.\u201d Navy rules prohibit exaggerating military service in campaigns. Questions were also raised about campaign use of a photo taken at the Massachusetts National Cemetery. <\/p>\n<p>Campaign supporters say Campa-Najjar attended a Memorial Day event with his unit and did not engage in political activity at a VA cemetery; they maintain he has complied with Department of Defense directives and that the Navy has not asked for changes. KPBS reported that the Navy is examining whether he violated rules by embellishing his service. DoD directives require reservists running for office to clearly indicate their reserve or retired status, and to include a prominent Disclaimer when displaying military photos that do not imply endorsement by the military. His campaign website previously featured photos of him in uniform and has since updated to say \u201cNavy Reserve officer\u201d rather than \u201cNavy Officer,\u201d with his occupation listed as \u201cU.S. Navy Reserve Officer\/College Educator.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The campaign also notes he was photographed in front of the grave of Korean War veteran Richard K. Stephenson, who died in 1997, but Campa-Najjar\u2019s team says he has no connection to Stephenson and was at an official Memorial Day event honoring fallen service members<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2587612,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Michael-Featured-Image-883.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[50410,6571,13420,77257,5894],"class_list":["post-2587611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-controversy-2","tag-elections","tag-fact-check","tag-military-record-2","tag-politics"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Michael-Featured-Image-883.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2587611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2587611"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2587611\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2587615,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2587611\/revisions\/2587615"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2587612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2587611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2587611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2587611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}