Omar Navarro (politician)
Omar Navarro is a perennial candidate for the seat of California's 43rd congressional district against longtime Democratic congressperson Maxine Waters, having unsuccessfully run in 2016, 2018, and 2020. Navarro received national attention for his campaign running against Maxine Waters after raising over $1,000,000 during his 2018 campaign, gaining over 200,000 social media followers, and being featured on Fox News and One America News Network. In 2020, Navarro was defeated in the primary election, tallying 10.9% of the overall vote. He has already registered to run for Waters' seat again for a fourth consecutive time in 2022. On July 29, 2020, Navarro announced via Twitter that he will be challenging California Governor Gavin Newsom for re-election in 2022.
Life
Early life
Navarro was born and raised in Inglewood, California. He has spent a significant portion of his life in Hawthorne and Torrance. Navarro's parents are Mexican and Cuban immigrants.Career
Navarro is a self-proclaimed small business owner. Navarro has worked as an online marketer.Navarro served as volunteer traffic commissioner for Torrance, California but resigned in 2017 after the Torrance City Council began the process of removing him from his position.
Electoral history
2014
Navarro ran for a seat on the City Council of Torrance in 2014. He finished 15th in a field of 15 candidates of an election where voters are requested to select up to four candidates. Navarro garnered 634 votes for 0.95% of the total.2016
After declaring for Congress, Navarro was defeated by Waters with 76.1% of the vote. The district includes parts of L.A., Torrance, Carson, Gardena, Hawthorne, Inglewood, Lawndale and Lomita.2018
Navarro challenged Waters for her seat in 2018. He was again defeated, with Waters receiving 77.7% of the vote to Navarro's 22.3%.Navarro's campaign raised more than $450,000 in the third quarter and spent $11,845 on rental fees and meals at the Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes as well as multiple stays at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas.
2020
In the March 3, 2020 California primary, Navarro failed to qualify for the general election by finishing third with 10.9% of the total vote. Waters received 78.1% of the vote with Republican Joe Collins finishing second with 11.1%. Navarro was unable to campaign at the time of the primary as he was incarcerated in San Francisco.Endorsements
Navarro touted endorsements from Roger Stone, Michael Flynn, Joe Arpaio, Herman Cain, and Alex Jones, among others. He met Flynn in person in February 2018, while in Washington to attend the Conservative Political Action Conference.Criminal history and controversies
Pepper spraying of children
In 2017, while he was a volunteer for the Torrance Traffic Commission, Navarro was accused of being involved in the pepper-spraying of a child at a pro-sanctuary cities event in Cudahy, California. Video of the incident showed Navarro in the back seat of a car while the driver and another passenger sprayed the surrounding protestors. At first, he denied spraying the crowd, but resigned after the Torrance City Council began the process of removing him. During his resignation statement to the Torrance City Council, Navarro accused Mayor Patrick Furey of being a pawn of Maxine Waters.Electronic tracking device
Navarro was convicted for attaching an electronic tracking device to his wife's car on February 14, 2016. He pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge in Orange County and was sentenced to a day in jail and 18 months’ probation in September 2016. He was also ordered to take an anger management course. He was on probation until March 2018. but violated it. It was revoked on April 12, 2017.Navarro was found guilty only two weeks before the 2016 election. Before Navarro admitted to his own doing, he blamed the Orange County District Attorney's Office and the media for spreading fake news.
Forged letter
Navarro released a fraudulent letter on his Twitter account that indicated Maxine Waters wanted to resettle tens of thousands of refugees into her LA district. The letter appeared to be printed on Waters’s House office stationery and looked as if written by her, bearing her signatures, alleging that she was in communication with CAIR-LA and Hussam Ayloush to relocate refugees in Los Angeles. The letter contained several inaccuracies, including references to committees and subcommittees on which Waters does not serve, and listing an address for a district office that had been closed for nearly a decade.Navarro was interrogated by the FBI and Capitol Police regarding the matter. He told the Los Angeles Times that he did not fabricate the letter and claimed that he received it from a person whose name he would not reveal and with whom he had not been in touch since the time he received the letter.
Restraining order, alleged stalking, and incarceration
On August 1, 2019, a restraining order was issued against Navarro for five years for his former girlfriend, conservative activist DeAnna Lorraine Tesoriero, who is publicly known as DeAnna Lorraine and who finished in 5th place and received 1.8% of the vote in California's 12th congressional district primary in 2020. In the ruling, the judge cited Navarro's "harassing and stalking" behavior towards Tesoriero. This is Navarro's second restraining order against a former partner in two years as one was previously issued in 2017 for his ex-wife.On December 7, 2019, Navarro was attempting to meet up with Lorraine and charged with stalking, criminal threats, and attempted extortion and violating a restraining order. On December 12, 2019, Navarro was remanded into custody on a further seven charges by San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Suzanne Bolanos for being a threat to public safety, and was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. After being charged on a total of 11 counts, eight of which were felonies, on June 25, 2020 Navarro reached a plea agreement and plead guilty to one felony and was thus released after serving six months in San Francisco County Jail 5 in San Bruno, California.