He received national attention during his 2018 campaign for the United States House of Representatives, when he became a vocal supporter of the 2018 teachers' strike and advocated for the legalization of cannabis in West Virginia.

In November 2018, Ojeda announced his candidacy for president in the 2020 election, but he dropped out in January 2019 when his campaign failed to gain traction.

He served 25 years in the United States Army, starting as an enlisted soldier before going through officer training and rising to the rank of major.

[2] During his service, he spent time in South Korea, Honduras, Jordan, Haiti, Afghanistan, and Iraq,[2] where he was attached to the 20th Engineer Brigade.

[10] After retiring from the military, Ojeda worked as a Junior ROTC instructor at Chapmanville Regional High School from 2013 to 2017, resigning due to time constraints related to his service as state senator, in addition with his run for Congress.

He established a social services nonprofit, the Logan Empowerment Action and Development, which engaged in community cleanup, Christmas toy drives, providing meals for the needy, and raising money for shoes for kids.

As a result, Ojeda was invited by Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia to the 2013 State of the Union address as a guest.

Ojeda decided to enter politics while listening to Manchin discuss disparities in allocation of "manufacturing hubs" to different regions of West Virginia.

The assailant, Jonathan S. Porter, who had ties to Ojeda's opponent, received 1–5 years in prison, and a $500 fine as a part of a plea deal.

[15][14][16] Ojeda went on to win the Democratic primary for the 7th District of the West Virginia Senate, defeating incumbent Art Kirkendoll.

[11] In January 2018, he criticized West Virginia Governor Jim Justice's proposed 1–2% increase in teacher wages, saying it was insufficient.

[21] Ojeda resigned from the West Virginia Senate on January 14, 2019, citing frustration with the legislature's slow pace and his inability to accomplish all his legislative goals.

[14] He then introduced several bills, including ones addressing public employees' healthcare needs, raising their wages, and giving teachers tax deductions on purchased classroom supplies.

[23] Due to his active and vocal support of the strikes, Ojeda was said by some to have attained something of a "folk hero" status with teachers and other unionists.

He was regularly met by chants of his last name and other expressions of appreciation and commendation while traveling the state to speak out in support of the strikers (and later his Congressional bid).

[14][13][23] Ojeda traveled to California to support the 2019 Los Angeles teachers' strike, proclaiming "Don’t make us go West Virginia on you" in an op-ed published in The Intercept.

[24] Ojeda ran for West Virginia's 3rd congressional district, a seat which was vacated by Republican Evan Jenkins, who filed instead to run in the primary for the U.S.

Ojeda's off the cuff unpolished pronouncements subsequently appeared in the trailer for the movie; "I’m sick and tired of people telling me America is the greatest country—because we can whip your ass?

[26] As the polling began to indicate a tight race, President Trump traveled to West Virginia in October to campaign for Miller.

[44] Ojeda dropped out of the race on January 26, 2019, citing his inability to get face time with the networks, and stating one must have access to wealth and power to run for office.

[45] On January 13, 2020, Ojeda announced his campaign for the United States Senate, hoping to challenge incumbent Shelley Moore Capito.

[48] On the night of the primary, Ojeda publicly conceded the election to Swearengin in a post shared from his campaign's official Facebook page, while hinting that his time in politics is not yet over.

[60][61] However, on August 8, 2019, following the Dayton and El Paso shootings, Ojeda called pro-gun rights politicians "spineless pieces of shit" who "didn't have the balls" to take on the NRA.

He has also voiced opposition to the Helms Amendment that limits the United States in assistance to abortion through foreign aid, saying, "a woman raped by the Taliban or Boko Haram should not be forced by the callousness of our government to bear her rapist’s child".

The fact is that President Trump's EPA's proposal will help put more West Virginians to work in the third congressional district.