NPE Action endorses Richard Ojeda for U.S. Congress, North Carolina’s 9th District.
Richard Ojeda is a candidate for the U.S. House in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District, facing incumbent Richard Hudson on November 3, 2026. He’s a retired Army Major and a former teacher who is highly committed to supporting our public schools.
Richard Ojeda has affirmed a clear and unequivocal commitment to public education — the commitment our students, families, and communities need in this moment. As a former educator himself, he understands what’s at stake.
Ojeda understands that public schools are a cornerstone of democracy: democratically governed, open to every child without exception, and secular in curriculum and practice. He has pledged to defend them against privatization — opposing vouchers, tax credits, and other schemes that divert public dollars to private and home schooling, and insisting that charter schools remain what they were meant to be: publicly accountable laboratories of innovation, led by parents and teachers within their districts, free of for-profit management and private governance. At a time of declining enrollment, he recognizes this is no moment for charter expansion.
Just as important, Ojeda has committed to the resources and conditions that make a real education possible for every student — regardless of race, income, religion, gender, LGBTQ status, or circumstance. That means a full and rich curriculum for all; equitable funding weighted toward the students with the greatest needs; reasonable class sizes; wraparound supports like health centers and after-school programs; diversity in hiring; and early childhood education treated as the public responsibility it is. He would invest in struggling schools rather than close them, and strengthen the communities built around them.
Ojeda also stands with educators as the professionals they are — well prepared, fully certified, and trusted with meaningful authority over curriculum, instruction, and materials. He would ensure assessments serve learning rather than punish students, stigmatize communities, or drive rewards and sanctions; that parents have a genuine voice in their children’s education; and that student information stays confidential.
In short, Richard Ojeda sees public education not as a service to be dismantled but as a pillar of our democracy to be defended and strengthened. NPE Action endorses him for North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District with confidence — and urges voters to stand with him this November.
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee. Authorized and paid for by Network for Public Education Action, PO Box 227. New York, NY 10156. 646-678-4477.