David Ocampo Grajales

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

David Ocampo Grajales

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

June 7, 2022

Education

Bachelor's

New York University, 2019

Personal

Birthplace

New Jersey

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

David Ocampo Grajales (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent New Jersey's 8th Congressional District. He lost in the Democratic primary on June 7, 2022.

Ocampo Grajales completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

David Ocampo Grajales was born in New Jersey. He earned a bachelor's degree from New York University in 2019.

Elections

2022

See also: New Jersey's 8th Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 8

The following candidates ran in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 8 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Robert Menendez Jr. (D)	72.9	70,837
	Submit photo	Marcos Arroyo (R)	24.2	23,540
	Submit photo	Joanne Kuniansky (Socialist Workers Party)	0.9	894
		Dan Delaney (L)	0.7	687
		David W. Cook (Other)	0.7	647
		Pablo Olivera (Labour Party)	0.4	361
	Submit photo	John Salierno (Truth and Merit)	0.2	226

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 97,192
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 8

Robert Menendez Jr. defeated David Ocampo Grajales and Ane Roseborough-Eberhard in the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 8 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Robert Menendez Jr.	83.0	26,490
		David Ocampo Grajales	11.7	3,749
		Ane Roseborough-Eberhard	5.2	1,668

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 31,907
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Eugene Mazo (D)
• Ricardo Luis Rojas (D)
• Brian Varela (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 8

Marcos Arroyo defeated Ana Rivera in the Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 8 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Marcos Arroyo	100.0	3,127
		Ana Rivera (Write-in)	0.0	0

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,127
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

David Ocampo Grajales completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Ocampo Grajales' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

David was born and raised in Northern New Jersey to a working class family. The son of immigrants from Colombia, he is a first-generation American and was the first in his family to go to college. His father, born in Medellin, is a truck driver. His mom, born in Cali, cleaned houses. Having grown up with a large and diverse extended family, David recognized early on how not everyone in this country was being given the same opportunities. He saw first hand how family members of color weren't treated the same. He saw how growing up a few towns over could put your life on a different path. And he decided that it wasn't enough to be passively better — you have to actively oppose the forces in this country that are determined to maintain the status quo.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Housing as a right:
• Medicare For All: The United States is the only developed country on earth that doesn’t provide a single-payer system. The impact of that is we pay more for worse care.
• Green New Deal: The science is clear, climate change is an existential threat. We need urgent action that is proportional to the threat. Although this is an emergency, it is also an opportunity to revitalize our economy and infrastructure in a way that is sustainable. This will require a whole-of-nation approach, but in the process, we can create thousands of good-paying union jobs, lower the cost of energy, and ensure a habitable planet for future generations.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

As the son of immigrants, I'm passionate about making sure we hold ourselves to the promises written into our founding documents. This is a nation of immigrants and I don't believe in closing the door behind me. We need to recognize that whether documented or undocumented, this country would not run without the work of millions of immigrants.. Regardless of documentation status, they deserve the same protections and rights afforded to all who choose to live in our country.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

The most valuable experience that I have, is growing up working class. My dad’s a truck driver, my mom cleaned houses. I know what it’s like to get surprised by your medical bill. I know what it’s like to worry about a loved one being taken away by ICE. I know what it’s like to feel the weight if thousands of dollars in student loans. That’s shaped my world view and it’s why I have so much passion when it comes to this.

I’m in this race because I believe our communities deserve a representative that has the same sense of urgency that we do. And to have that, I think you need to have lived those experiences. I have.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

The core job of a representative is to REPRESENT. That's why I'm in this race. The fundamental frustration that I hear again and again from the voters I speak with, is that they’re not being heard. And the message of our campaign is that the job of a representative is to listen and to turn that into action.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

2022 Elections

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Government

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Candidate

U.S. House New Jersey District 8

Website

Facebook

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Footnotes

[show]

New Jersey's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Cory Booker (D)

Andrew Kim (D)

Representatives

District 1

Donald Norcross (D)

District 2

Jeff Van Drew (R)

District 3

Herbert Conaway (D)

District 4

Chris Smith (R)

District 5

Josh Gottheimer (D)

District 6

Frank Pallone (D)

District 7

Thomas Kean (R)

District 8

Robert Menendez (D)

District 9

Nellie Pou (D)

District 10

LaMonica McIver (D)

District 11

Mikie Sherrill (D)

District 12

Bonnie Coleman (D)

Democratic Party (11)

Republican Party (3)