Sure, November 2008 is nearly two years away, but it’s
apparently never too early to declare one’s intention to run for president, and thus it’s never too early to get to know the people who might be the next leader of the free world. This month we’ll be taking a brief look at them.

Duncan Hunter

Party: Republican

Age: 58

Status: Declared

www.gohunter08.com

“Peace through Strength” is the campaign slogan for this little-known Republican presidential candidate from San Diego. Duncan Hunter has positioned himself as the most conservative Republican candidate in the 2008 election. He is fighting an uphill battle—the last member of the House to win the presidency was James Garfield.

Born and raised in southern California, Hunter attended college briefly before enlisting in the U.S. Army to serve in Vietnam from ‘69-‘71. He then graduated with a J.D. from Western State University in San Diego, California in 1976, and worked for a time as a lawyer in private practice. Hunter ran for congress in 1980 in the 42nd District of California, which includes San Diego. He narrowly beat out the incumbent Democrat and has been easily re-elected in ever since.

In 2003, he became the chair of the House Armed Services Committee which is responsible for the funding and oversight of the Department of Defense and the U.S. Armed Services. He lost this committee chairmanship when the Democrats took power in November. Along with his fellow Congressman Randy Cunningham, Hunter received campaign contributions from Brent Wilkes, the founder of defense contractor ADCS. Though Cunningham was indicted and is currently serving a 6 year sentence for bribery and tax fraud, Hunter has never been charged with any wrongdoing.

Because of his position as chair of the House Armed Services Committee, Hunter has been instrumental in garnering more money for the U.S. military and the war in Iraq. Here he is defending the conditions for prisoners in Guantanamo:

Hunter has also earned a reputation for being tough on national security because of his strong support of the U.S. border fence. He pushed to get 14 miles of double fence built south of San Diego and wrote the bill that President Bush just signed which calls for building a 700-mile fence along the US-Mexico border. He also supports sending more troops to Iraq and calls the United Nations “an organization of limited value.”

Hunter authored the “personhood-at-conception” bill, supports a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman, believes prayer should be permitted in public schools, and calls Ronald Reagan his “soul mate.”

Congressman Hunter and his wife, Lynne, live in Alpine, California. They have two sons, Duncan Duane (who has served two tours of duty in Iraq) and Sam, and four grandchildren.

Posted by Eli’s Intern: Sage Van Wing

Previously: John Edwards, John McCain, Bill Richardson, Mitt Romney, Hillary Clinton, Rudy Giuliani, Barack Obama, Sam Brownback, Christopher J. Dodd,
Newt Gingrich, Dennis Kucinich, Mike Huckabee, Tom Vilsack, and Joe Biden.