Ammar Campa-Najjar confronts campaign attacks calling him ‘grandson of a terrorist'

The Democratic nominee is battling back against right-wing attacks on his Congressional campaign

Democratic candidate for the 50th congressional district Ammar Campa Najjar makes an appearance outside federal court where incumbent Duncan Hunter (R-CA) and his wife were being arraigned in San Diego, California, US 23 August 2018 (REUTERS)

Ammar Campa-Najjar, a progressive underdog in California's Congressional midterm elections, has hit back against "out-of-touch forces" focusing on his grandfather's involvement in the 1972 Munich terror attack.

The Democratic nominee in the Golden State's 50th district said right-wing news outlets were using "xenophobia and distorting facts” by associating him with his terrorist grandfather — a man he expressly disavowed in an interview with The Independent.

"This is another ploy from out-of-touch forces, who play identity politics and don’t want to talk about the issues," the candidate said. "Obviously, people make a lot of assumptions about me that are not accurate."

"First of all, when it comes to my distant relative — who died 16 years before I was born — he influenced my thinking as much as he did yours, which is not at all," he continued. "I knew him as much as you did. So it really is kind of a non-sequitur. It plays on xenophobia and distorting facts and it really has no bearing."

The California election was all but won by Duncan Hunter, until the Republican incumbent and his wife were indicted earlier this month and accused of making hundreds of illegal personal-use payments from a campaign account.

Meanwhile, the Republican lawmaker attempted to repair his fractured image with voters during a recent Fox News interview, blaming his wife for the charges and saying it’s "difficult to live" in California on his $174,000 taxpayer-provided salary.

Mr Hunter has since slipped in approval ratings and in several polls, boosting Mr Campa-Najjar's once-long shot candidacy into a potentially close race during a contentious midterm election season.

Democratic candidate for the 50th congressional district Ammar Campa Najjar makes an appearance outside federal court where incumbent Duncan Hunter (R-CA) and his wife were being arraigned in San Diego, California, 23 August 2018.

Still, Mr Campa-Najjar's campaign faces some clear messaging obstacles of its own.

Fox News referred to Mr Campa-Najjar as a "grandson of terrorist" in a headline that failed to mention his name (the article has since been updated, though the headline still makes no mention of the candidate's name). A variety of right-wing outlets have also highlighted the Democrat's grandfather, Muhammad Yusuf al-Najjar, who was killed by Israeli forces in retaliation for massacring 11 Israeli athletes in 1972.

The terrorist was a member of the "Black September" organisation, a group of Palestinians which crossed the fence of the Olympic Village on 5 September 1972 and took nine people hostage, before eventually killing the athletes during a gunfire exchange with German officials.

His life was a far cry from that of Mr Campa-Najjar, the first Latino-Arab American to launch a Congressional run. The 29-year-old of Mexican-Palestinian descent was raised by his Christian mother in a working-class home in California, before serving in Barack Obama's White House.

He launched his campaign on a progressive platform that has seen unprecedented success in 2018, including support for key issues like Medicare-for-all and banning corporate money in elections.

Mr Campa-Najjar has been endorsed by Bernie Sanders' political action group, Our Revolution, as well as Mr Obama. He's also received support from progressive firebrands like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democratic Socialist who defeated 10-term Democratic Congressman Joe Crowley in New York’s primaries this year.

The Congressional nominee defeated several Democratic candidates in the state's "jungle primaries" with over 17 per cent of the vote, compared to Mr Hunter, who sailed through with nearly 47 per cent of support among the district's voters. Analysts have said Mr Campa-Najjar's only shot at victory would require support from at least some of the Republican incumbent's voters.

He just may be able to garner some of that support — that is, if conservative voters aren't swayed by reports of family ties. Despite his stances on a variety of issues, Mr Campa-Najjar — who has been reluctant to use the "Democratic Socialist" label other progressives have taken on in 2018 — has said he would be willing to work with the president and Republican party.

"Breitbart even had an article saying I was willing to work with Donald Trump, and they actually spoke pretty positively about me," he said. "I think the super conservative folks have mixed feelings about me. It’s going to be my job to show them my real platform and what I’m about".

Before Mr Duncan's criminal charges thrust his campaign into the national spotlight, Mr Campa-Najjar said he dealt with local "hit jobs" similar to the ones going around on Twitter and other social media today.

"Despite paid media and a couple hit jobs, it didn't work: I was still able to win the primary," he said. "So I’m not concerned about it. I think I’ve risen to the occasion and I believe the voters will too … there are people banking on the fact that voters will be conned into thinking any of this matters".