Duncan Hunter (politician)

Duncan Hunter

Duncan Lee Hunter (* 31 May 1948 in Riverside , California ) is an American politician of the Republican Party . From 1981 to 2009 he represented the state of California as a member of the US House of Representatives . He ran in 2008 in his party's primary election for the presidential election without success .

Family, education and work

Hunter's father, Bob, was an active supporter of the Republican Party in California. After graduating from Rubidoux High School in Riverside, Duncan Hunter attended Western State University in San Diego , where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1968 . In 1969 Hunter signed up for service in the US Army , received military training at the United States Army Airborne School until 1971 and served during the Vietnam War . On his return he studied law with the help of the GI Bill at Western State University and graduated in 1976 with a Juris Doctor . He then practiced as a lawyer in his own law firm in a Hispanic district of San Diego.

His son Duncan D. Hunter also later became a Republican MP in the House of Representatives.

Political career

In the 1980 election , Hunter was first elected to Congress . His mandate at the time in the 42nd congressional electoral district of California covered large parts of San Diego County and was structurally strongly democratic , so that his victory over the democratic mandate holder Lionel Van Deerlin was surprising and part of the “Reagan Revolution” ( Ronald Reagan had the presidential election at the same time won; with him many conservatives received political mandates) has been designated. Hunter won all re-elections, most recently in 2006 , attributed to demographic changes and personal popularity. Due to the redesign of the constituencies in 1982 and 1992 after the censuses in the USA, the census of his geographically relatively stable electoral district changed, so that from 1983 he represented the 45th and from 1993 the 52nd congressional electoral district of California.

In Congress, he was a member of the Armed Forces Committee and was chairman from 2003 to 2007.

After Hunter had signaled his interest in running for the 2008 presidential election in an interview on October 30, 2006 , he ran from 2007 and, as a relatively unknown candidate with few resources, received little attention. At the caucus in Iowa on January 3, 2008, he received less than 1 percent of the vote, at the Primary in Wyoming on January 5, he was third with 8 percent. In the Primarys of New Hampshire and Michigan , he received about 1 percent each. He announced his withdrawal and support for Mike Huckabee after the January 19 caucus in Nevada, which garnered 2 percent of the vote . For the 2008 election, Hunter no longer ran for Congress. He was succeeded by his son, Duncan Jr. to.

Positions

Hunter put the focus of his political work on security policy . He advocated increased defense spending and a limitation of illegal immigration, particularly through border security. In 1994, for example, he pushed through the construction of a border fence between California and Mexico (between San Diego and Tijuana ) and, through the Secure Fence Act of 2006, which he promoted, advocated an extension to the entire US border to Mexico. His attitude earned him the nickname "Secretary of Da Fence" ("Fence Minister", pun for the English term for the defense minister). He campaigned against abortion ( Pro-Life ) and against free trade agreements and was considered a vehement supporter of the Iraq war .

Web links

Commons : Duncan Hunter  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• Duncan Hunter (politician) in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• Duncan Hunter. In: Encyclopaedia Britannica , August 13, 2007 (English, updated several times)
• Duncan Hunter. In: Biography.com , April 2, 2014 (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Duncan Hunter. In: Biography.com , April 2, 2014.
2. ↑ Searching for candidates in the USA. In: n-tv , October 30, 2006.
3. ↑ Duncan Hunter. In: Encyclopaedia Britannica , August 13, 2007 (updated several times).
4. ↑ Kathleen Arnold (ed.): Anti-Immigration in the United States. A Historical Encyclopedia. Volume 1: A-R. Greenwood Press, Santa Barbara, CA, Denver, CO, Oxford 2011, p. 728.
5. ↑ Duncan Hunter. In: Biography.com , April 2, 2014.