Duncan Lee Hunter (born May 31, 1948), American politician, has been a Republican member of the House of Representatives since 1981 from California’s 52nd congressional district in northern and eastern San Diego. It was previously numbered the 42nd District from 1981 to 1983 and then the 45th District from 1983 to 1993. Hunter is chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. He is currently seeking the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States. Hunter married the former Lynne Layh in 1973. Hunter’s son, Duncan Duane Hunter (born 1977), a First Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps, was deployed to Iraq in 2003. Hunter has another son, Samuel. His family attends First Baptist Church of Alpine, which is affiliated with the San Diego Southern Baptist Association.

Early Life, Education, and Career

Hunter was born in Riverside, California. He briefly attended the University of Montana and the University of California, Santa Barbara before enlisting in the United States Army. He served in the Vietnam War in the 173rd Airborne Brigade and the 75th Army Rangers. After leaving the Army, he enrolled at Western State University College of Law and earned a BSL and JD in 1976. He then worked as a plaintiff’s attorney.

U.S. House of Representatives

In 1980, Hunter was recruited to run for Congress in what was then the 42nd District against 18-year incumbent Democrat Lionel Van Deerlin. Hunter was initially a decided underdog, but his attacks on Van Deerlin’s record on defense gained surprising traction in a district dominated by military bases and personnel. Van Deerlin did not respond quickly enough, and Hunter narrowly defeated him. He was one of many Republicans swept into office from historically Democratic districts as a result of Reagan’s coattails; Van Deerlin had been the district’s only congressman since its creation in 1963

After the 1980 census, many of the more Democratic areas were cut out of Hunter’s district, and he hasn’t faced serious opposition since. In his district, he consistently gets over 60% of the Hispanic vote and nearly 70% of the Democrat vote. Hunter became chairman of the House Armed Services Committee in 2003. In 2006, Hunter did not face any opponent in the Republican primary. In the November general election, he defeated Navy veteran/minister John Rinaldi, a Democrat, and Michael Benoit, a Libertarian. Hunter was re-elected with 65% of the vote, a 33-point margin over Rinaldi.

2008 Presidential Campaign

On October 30, 2006, Hunter announced his intention to consider running for the Republican nomination for President in 2008. “You never say never, but Congressman Hunter faces extremely long odds given that practically no one apart from students of Congress knows who he is,” said Jack Pitney, a government professor at Claremont McKenna College. “He’s a good member of Congress, a very effective chairman of Armed Services. It’s just that he has no following within the party.”

Official Site: Go Hunter ‘08

Official PAC: Peace Through Strength PAC

Biography Source: Wikipedia

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