Duncan Hunter presidential campaign, 2008

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Duncan Hunter for President 2008
Campaign U.S. presidential election, 2008
Candidate Duncan Hunter
Congressman (1981-present)
Affiliation Republican Party
Status Withdrawn
Headquarters San Diego, California
Key people Sydney Hay (Manager)
Roy Tyler (National Communications Director)
Receipts US$2.5M (2007-12-31)[1]
Website
www.gohunter08.com

Fourteen-term Congressman and Vietnam War veteran Duncan Hunter of California announced his intentions to run for the 2008 Republican nomination for President of the United States. Hunter focused his campaign on the issues of border security, trade, and the war on terrorism. If he had been elected, Hunter would have been the first sitting member of the House of Representatives to be elected president since James A. Garfield in 1880.

Hunter had expressed that he was in the campaign to win and would retire from his congressional seat once the election is over. Throughout 2007, Hunter was in the second tier of Republican candidates, consistently getting 3% or less support among Republicans in national polls. Hunter dropped out of the race on January 19, 2008 after a poor turnout in the Nevada Republican caucuses of which he placed last among candidates on the Republican ballot.[1]

The following is an account of the Duncan Hunter presidential campaign, 2008.

Contents

[edit] Campaign developments

Presidential candidate Duncan Hunter (R-CA)
Presidential candidate Duncan Hunter (R-CA)

[edit] Campaign announcements

Hunter first made an announcement that he would possibly be seeking the Republican nomination for president of the United States on October 30, 2006, speaking from the waterfront of Naval Base San Diego.[2] Later that month he formed an exploratory committee to test the waters.[3] Hunter officially announced his candidacy for president on January 23, 2007 after filing papers with the Federal Elections Commission.[4]

[edit] First half of 2007

After declaring, Hunter created a website for his run, and opened accounts on MySpace, Facebook and YouTube.

“ this administration has a case of the slows on border enforcement ”

Hunter participated in all televised Republican Party (GOP) debates until January 5, 2008. He was noted for his role in the May 15 South Carolina debate when he stated his position and experience with the issue of border security. He stated that he "built the border fence in San Diego" and claims it resulted in reductions in the smuggling of narcotics by 90% and a 50% drop in crime. Hunter spoke of the bill passed by Congress to build 854 miles (1,374 km) of border fence across the Southwest. He continued by stating that as of that moment (May 15, 2007) only two miles of the fence had been built. He went on to quip that "this [Bush] administration has a case of the slows on border enforcement."[5]

In June 2007, Hunter participated in the third GOP debate featured on CNN. In it he discussed his support for the war in Iraq, his experience as chairman of the Armed Services Committee and articulated his belief in the importance of training Iraqi battalions for security in Iraq. In regards to Iran, Hunter expressed his belief that the Iranian regime was helping to arm the insurgency in Iraq. If it was found that Iran was developing a nuclear weapon, Hunter stated that he "would authorize the use of tactical nuclear weapons [to end development] if there was no other way to preempt..." After discussing foreign policy Hunter turned his attention to the issue of immigration. He again argued on the importance of a border wall and evoked the audience's memory about the fence he helped build in his congressional district, quipping "if they (illegal immigrants) get across my fence [in San Diego], we sign them up for the Olympics immediately." At the end of the debate, Hunter took the opportunity to criticize the three frontrunners, John McCain, Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney explaining his belief that Massachusetts Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy had exerted too much influence on the three men, describing them as the "Kennedy Wing of the Republican Party." He expressed his belief that the Republican Party should avoid a move in that direction.[6]

[edit] Second half of 2007

In late August 2007, Duncan Hunter's campaign communication's director, Roy Tyler was quoted as stating that he believed the chances of Hunter winning the nomination to be the same as "pushing a string through a maze." This came as Hunter spoke to students at the Brown-Lupton Student Center about the foci of his campaign; border security and fair trade with China. Hunter continued campaigning after hearing of the statement and won the Texas Straw Poll a few days later with Roy Tyler at his side.[7]

“ If the left-wing leaders of academia will not support our troops, they, in the very least, should not support our adversaries ”

After his victory in the Texas Straw poll, Hunter received media attention for his response to Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's invitation to speak to students at Columbia University. He criticized the University for its decision while campaigning, stating that "If the left-wing leaders of academia will not support our troops, they, in the very least, should not support our adversaries..." Hunter then went on to call for federal funding of the University to be pulled.[8] This set off criticism from liberals such as Glenn Greenwald who described Hunter's proposal as "dangerous", "improper" and "unconstitutional".[9]

Later in the month it was revealed that Hunter's campaign website had been hacked by anti-war activists for a few hours. The activists added the words, "hacked by Adnali f0r TurkStorm [dot] org No War!" above images of children in a warzone. The website Turkstorm.org, which was cited in the hacking appeared to have no connection as IP analysis identified that the hackers were from Germany. Roy Tyler revealed that hackers had attempted to change the website at least six times and that this was the first successful alteration.[10]

At the October 21 Florida GOP Debate after stating that he felt that questioner, Carl Cameron was trying to divide the Republican Party, Hunter spoke of a situation that he thought might bring the participants together. He reminisced of a time when he felt the "Democrat Party [sic] lost its identity". Hunter discussed his perceived failure of the Kennedy administration at the Bay of Pigs and compared this to Ronald Reagan's actions in El Salvador which he perceived as successful in bringing freedom to the nation. Hunter continued by remarking that at that moment the military of El Salvador was "fighting side by side with our guys (The United States military) in Iraq." He finished his remark by stating that the Republican Party is "the Party of Freedom."[11]

The California wildfires of October 2007 burn in Hunter's congressional district seen in this satellite NASA photo
The California wildfires of October 2007 burn in Hunter's congressional district seen in this satellite NASA photo

Following the October 21 GOP Debate, Hunter was informed that parts of his congressional district were burning as a result of the California wildfires of October 2007. He immediately stalled campaigning for president for a short time in October in order to help his constituents with the recovery effort.[12] Hunter sharply criticized politicians who connected the wildfires to the war in Iraq. He stated that this assessment was wrong because San Diego had more access to troops, helicopters and equipment than any other place in the country. During an interview with Neil Cavuto, Hunter gave an assessment of the wildfire situation and explained that the politicians "have got to have some creative writers to somehow link these — these natural disasters with — with troops in Iraq..."[13]

In November 2007, near the day of remembrance of American Veterans on Veteran's Day, Hunter and his campaign reflected on the importance of Veterans to America and the security of freedom, "We cannot thank them [Veterans] all sufficiently...[they] have represented the finest of human qualities...Our veterans have made [a] sacrifice unflinchingly, with a character that General Douglas MacArthur described as 'stainless'. They make the sacrifice for their comrades in arms, their 'buddies' and the immediate mission at hand. But in a greater sense they have made the sacrifice for millions of Americans whom they do not know and who do not know them"[14] Hunter was also selected to serve as the grand marshal for the 2007 San Diego Veteran's Day parade. The parade in downtown San Diego had the theme of "Honoring Those Who Serve Veterans" and Hunter took the selection as an honor.[15]

Hunter participated in the November 28, 2007 CNN/YouTube GOP Debate, and received a question about the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. The questioner, former Brig. Gen. Keith Kerr first announced that he was homosexual and then proceeded to ask "...why you [Republican candidates] think that American men and women in uniform are not professional enough to serve with gays and lesbians?" Hunter was asked first to respond to the question. He thanked the general for his service and then stated that he believed the sole issue to be "unit cohesion" mirroring a statement made by former Secretary of State Colin Powell. After the debate it was found that Kerr was a member of Hillary Clinton's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transexual Americans For Hillary Steering Committee. Because of this revelation, footage of the question was removed from future CNN telecasts. The next day Hunter sent a letter to Hillary Clinton that read the following: "Dear Hillary Clinton, Regarding the "plant", retired Brig. Gen. Keith H. Kerr, that you sent to ask me the question at the CNN-YouTube debate last night in Florida. Send more!!! Merry Christmas, Duncan Hunter."[16] The Hillary Clinton campaign did not respond to the letter.

[edit] Primary and caucus results 2008

Hunter finished seventh place in the January 3, 2008 Iowa Republican caucuses receiving only .5% (515 of the 100,593 votes cast) and no delegates.[17] Hunter was subsequently denied an invitation to the ABC News Debate held on January 5, 2008 because he did not meet the 5% polling threshold needed to participate.[18] However, Hunter focused only minimally on the state of Iowa putting more resources in the first primary state of New Hampshire.[19] Unlike the other GOP candidates, Hunter traveled to Wyoming for the January 5, 2008 Wyoming Republican County Conventions. The convention was largely ignored by the mainstream media and Hunter had campaigned in the state more than any other candidate;[20] he won one national delegate from the convention and one alternate delegate, finishing in third place behind winner Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson, not counting uncommitted delegates.[21] At the first in the nation primary in New Hampshire held on January 8, Hunter finished in seventh place with only 1% of the vote.[22] After finishing in last place in the Michigan Republican primary (receiving 1%), the Nevada Republican caucuses (2%), and the South Carolina Republican primary (0%), Hunter dropped out of the race on January 19, 2008.

In his withdrawal speech that night, given from the same pier at Naval Base San Diego where he had begun his campaign in October 2006,[23] Hunter thanked his supporters, expressed the amusement he and his family had on the campaign trail and influence he had on the debate within the party, "The failure of our campaign to gain traction is mine and mine alone, but we have driven the issues of national security, the border fence, the emergence of China and the need to reverse bad trade policy. Because of that, this campaign has been very worthwhile, and for the Hunter family, a lot of fun."[1] Four days later, Hunter endorsed Mike Huckabee for the Republican nomination.[24]

Late Show with David Letterman poked fun at Hunter's relative obscurity by making a mock statement regarding his withdrawal, saying "we don't know what he actually looks like" and substituting Hunter's picture with that of "beloved character actor Ben Gazzara."[25]

[edit] Endorsements/donations

Brigadier Gen. Chuck Yeager
Brigadier Gen. Chuck Yeager

Hunter has received endorsements from some notable individuals and has gained donations from prominent businessmen. Roger Milliken, chair of Milliken and Company donated $2,100. Bruce Bartlett, founder of Bartlett Holdings, a nuclear technology firm gave $2,300 and James Ritchie, CEO of International Foundation of Hope donated $500. As of June 30, 2007, Hunter has raised $1,352,941 and spent $1,140,014 leaving $212,927 cash on hand.[26]

Hunter was endorsed by former United States Air Force Brigadier General Chuck Yeager. Yeager is the first pilot to have broken the sound barrier, a feat he accomplished in 1947. Hunter has named Yeager as an honorary national chairman.[27]

Controversial figure and political commentator Ann Coulter called Hunter her "first choice" for president. The comments Coulter has made regarding former Senator John Edwards' have been condemned by many, even by some conservatives. When asked about a call Elizabeth Edwards made to Coulter during one of the latter's appearances on MSNBC Hardball Hunter defended Coulter saying, “Well, I think what Senator Edwards’ wife said was very consistent with what lots of Democrats and lots of liberals have said... and that is that we need to silence conservative voices.” He described Coulter as “a particularly articulate spokeswoman for the conservative view” and jokingly added: “Especially since Ann Coulter said nice things about me, I think she’s closely approaching that level of being a great American.”[28]

Hunter received the endorsement of the Missouri Republican Assembly (MRA) in November 2007. In their endorsement, the assembly cited Hunter as a "true Republican" who shares their views on issues. MRA state president Chris Brown stated, "Congressman Hunter is a true social conservative and honestly represents the Republican Wing of the Republican Party, when you add together Duncan Hunter's commitment to the military, American jobs, and fighting for family and life issues, there is no better choice for President. America needs Hunter's integrity, courage and proven leadership."[29]

On December 21, 2007, Hunter received the endorsement of former New Hampshire Senator Robert C. Smith. Smith cited Hunter as the best candidate to carry the "Reagan Torch" and the best qualified candidate to protect conservative values. Smith wrote a letter to Republicans in New Hampshire, following his endorsement to explain his decision of endorsing Hunter. In it he states, "There will never be another Ronald Reagan but fellow Californian Duncan Hunter can pick up the Reagan torch and light the way for America to come back from the dangers we now face."[30]

On January 6, 2008 Hunter was endorsed by the Nevada Republican Assembly at their Presidential Endorsing Convention. He won the endorsement after received a two-thirds majority of all votes cast. Members of the assembly cited Hunter as their choice for president "for his stand on the...the sanctity of life, support of [the] constitution, 2nd Amendment rights, security of [the] borders, limited government..." among other aspects of Hunter's platform. Hunter had previously addressed the assembly on January 5, one day before the endorsement.[31]

[edit] Polls

Main articles: General Election Polling, GOP Primary Polling, and GOP Straw Polls
Duncan Hunter (back, left) greets the delegation at the Texas Republican Straw Poll at the Fort Worth Convention Center Sept. 1, 2007, and is applauded by Texas GOP Chairman Tina Benkiser (front).
Duncan Hunter (back, left) greets the delegation at the Texas Republican Straw Poll at the Fort Worth Convention Center Sept. 1, 2007, and is applauded by Texas GOP Chairman Tina Benkiser (front).

Hunter's performance in opinion polls has been notably inconsistent. The campaign has been criticized for not having the voter visibility needed to break through to the top tier. MSNBC.com demoted him from lightweight to "flyweight" among others in the Republican field.

Hunter is shown in some polls as having less than 1% support among Republicans. According to a Gallup poll taken July 12-15 Hunter placed 10th place among the Republican field taking only 1% support,[32] but in another poll done by Gallup on July 6-8 without Newt Gingrich, Hunter places fifth with 3% support, trailing only Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson, Mitt Romney, and John McCain and placing the campaign atop all other second tier candidates.In more recent polls, Duncan Hunter is (as of December 2007) statistically tied with Fred Thompson for fourth place (undecided voters excluded) in the early battleground state of Nevada, this coming from an American Research Group poll released December 8, and is also tied with Thompson and Ron Paul for fifth place at 4% in Michigan according to a poll conducted by WXYZ-TV.[33] Los Angeles Times columnist Don Frederick points out that Hunter's support in the polls comes almost entirely from Republican men, where he polled 6% among that demographic in an L.A. Times/Bloomberg poll in December 2007. Among women, his support is nearly zero.[34]

In straw polls, Hunter has sometimes done much better.

On January 13, 2007, Hunter won Arizona's Maricopa County straw poll, beating Arizona Senator John McCain.

On March 1, 2007, a South Carolina straw poll was conducted in the Spartanburg area, where Hunter finished a close third (by six votes) in a statistical tie with McCain (1st) and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani (2nd). Commenting on Hunter’s showing, Spartanburg Republican Gerald Emory said, “Now we have a true Ronald Reagan conservative that we can support. This is a proud night for the Grand Ole Party.”[35]

On April 17, 2007, Hunter won the Anderson County (South Carolina) straw poll with 48 percent of the vote. He defeated former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (25 percent), Senator John McCain (7 percent), and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani (5 percent). Hunter also tied for second place in Geenwood County and second place Pickens County. South Carolina is the nation's third primary state. "I am grateful to the great conservatives of Anderson, Greenwood, and Pickens Counties for giving our campaign a huge boost. It is clear our message of maintaining a strong national defense, securing our border without amnesty, holding China accountable on trade, and protecting life are resonating with the voters. Our campaign is one of issues, not flash and expense. We don't have a jet or an army of consultants and paid staff. We do have the conservative message that is true. In the end, that will be what Americans want."

He has also finished second place in straw polls in Greenwood and Pickens Counties. He finished third place in a Spartanburg poll and also finished a close third, only two percentage points behind John McCain, in a Nevada straw poll in October 2007. However, in Iowa, where he has done very little campaigning, Hunter finished without a single vote in a "just for fun" Crawford County poll and finished in 9th place out of 11 (with 172 votes) in the Ames Straw Poll, although he spent far less than most of the candidates and among those who put little to no resources into the race, he finished nine votes behind Rudy Giuliani and well ahead of McCain.

Hunter handily won the Townhall.com Texas Straw Poll on September 1, 2007, in Fort Worth, Texas, with about double the votes of second-place Fred Thompson. He received a total of 534 votes, well ahead of Fred Thompson who came in second with 266 votes. Texas Congressman Ron Paul finished in third with 217 votes.[36]

[edit] Campaign focuses

See also: Political positions of Duncan Hunter
Campaign logo
Campaign logo
Hunter speaking at the National Maritime Day Events on May 22, 2002
Hunter speaking at the National Maritime Day Events on May 22, 2002

On his campaign website, Hunter focused mainly on border security, the War on Terrorism, trade and his conservative record. He boasted that he had been given a 92% lifetime rating from the ACU indicating a strong conservative record, he referred to himself as a "true conservative".

Hunter has used the issue of border security as the foundation of his campaign. He feels that the United States Government should complete the construction of the border wall on the southern border with Mexico. This action was approved by Congress with the passage of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006. Hunter feels the federal government is not building the wall in the speed he would prefer.

Hunter ran his campaign as the most avid supporter of President Bush. He believes that the government must be able to collect and use intelligence to fight its War on Terrorism. He points to the fact that America has not had a terrorist attack committed on its soil since the events of 9/11 as evidence that the current policies are working. Hunter supports all provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act but states that intelligence agencies must continue to protect Civil Rights.

Hunter is particularly concerned with American trade and speaks often on the campaign trail about how he believes "China cheats on trade" with the United States. He feels that the workers of America are the greatest in the world and that they are hurt when jobs are outsourced to other nations with cheaper labor. Hunter feels that when America trades on what he calls a "one-way street" with nations like China it devalues the currency and hurts the American workforce. Hunter is more supportive of "fair trade" than he is of "free trade".

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Shear, Michael. "Duncan Hunter Leaves GOP Field", Washington Post, 2008-01-19. Retrieved on 2008-01-19. 
  2. ^ (2006-10-30). "Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) Announces Pres. Exploratory Effort". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-01-20.
  3. ^ "Rep. Hunter joins 2008 presidential race", FoxNews.com, 2007-01-14. Retrieved on 2007-07-25. 
  4. ^ "2008 Presidential Candidates", CNN.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-25. 
  5. ^ "Republican Debate Transcript, South Carolina", cfr.org, 2007-05-15. Retrieved on 2007-07-25. 
  6. ^ "Transcript: Third G.O.P. Debate", New York Times, 2007-06-05. Retrieved on 2007-12-31. 
  7. ^ Larson, Brett. "Campaign: Little hope for White House run", DailySkiff.com, 2007-08-30. Retrieved on 2007-12-22. 
  8. ^ "Hunter seeks to cut federal funds to Columbia University", The Crypt, 2007-10-01. Retrieved on 2007-12-22. 
  9. ^ Greenwald, Glenn. "Columbia to be punished for hosting the new Hitler enemy", salon.com, 2007-09-24. Retrieved on 2008-02-24. 
  10. ^ Wolf, Byron. "Duncan Hunter's '08 Web Site Hacked", ABC News, 2007-10-01. Retrieved on 2007-12-22. 
  11. ^ "Republican Debate Transcript", New York Times, 2007-10-21. Retrieved on 2007-10-21. 
  12. ^ Caifa, Karin. "Wildfire politics", wptv.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-24. 
  13. ^ "California Congressman Duncan Hunter Says Dems Are Playing Politics with The California Wildfires", Fox News. Retrieved on 2007-10-24. 
  14. ^ "Duncan Hunter Highlights Importance of Veterans Day", News Blaze. Retrieved on 2007-11-10. 
  15. ^ "Veterans Day events in San Diego County", SignOnSanDiego.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-10. 
  16. ^ "CNN/Youtube Debate", Ohio Duncan Hunter For President 2008, 2007-11-29. Retrieved on 2007-12-21. 
  17. ^ "RESULTS: Iowa", CNN, 2008-01-03. Retrieved on 2008-01-04. 
  18. ^ "Kucinich, Hunter, Gravel cut from ABC News presidential debates set for Saturday", International Herald Tribune, 2008-01-04. Retrieved on 2007-01-04. 
  19. ^ Wilkie, Dana. "Hunter keeps on, despite lacking funds, attention", SignOnSanDiego.com, 2008-01-03. Retrieved on 2007-01-04. 
  20. ^ "GOP Ignores Jan. 5 Wyoming Conventions", CBS, 2008-01-03. Retrieved on 2007-01-04. 
  21. ^ "Wyoming convention results", Wyoming Republican Party, 2008-01-05. Retrieved on 2008-01-05. 
  22. ^ "State-by-State Votes", Los Angeles Times, 2008-01-09. Retrieved on 2007-01-09. 
  23. ^ "Rep. Hunter drops out of GOP presidential race", Associated Press for USA Today, 2008-01-20. Retrieved on 2008-01-20. 
  24. ^ "Drop-out Duncan Hunter Backs Huckabee", FoxNews.com, 2008-01-23. Retrieved on 2008-01-23. 
  25. ^ Late Show with David Letterman. 2008-01-21.
  26. ^ "Duncan Hunter", CNN.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-25. 
  27. ^ "Duncan Hunter", CNN.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-25. 
  28. ^ "Hunter defends Ann Coulter against critics", MSNBC.com, 2007-07-02. Retrieved on 2007-07-25. 
  29. ^ "Missouri Republican Assembly Endorses Duncan Hunter for President", News Blaze. Retrieved on 2007-11-08. 
  30. ^ "Former New Hampshire Sen.Bob Smith Endorses Duncan Hunter for President", News Blaze. Retrieved on 2007-12-21. 
  31. ^ Gray, Alan. "Hunter Wins Nevada Republican Assembly Endorsement", News Blaze, 2008-01-06. Retrieved on 2008-01-09. 
  32. ^ "Gallup Poll 2008 Presidential race", Gallup.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-25. 
  33. ^ "Poll: Giuliani plunges, Huckabee surges", WXYZ-TV. Retrieved on 2007-12-23. 
  34. ^ Frederick, Don. "Duncan Hunter hurdle disclosed", Los Angeles Times, 2007-12-05. 
  35. ^ Mooney, Alexander. "McCain wins Spartanburg straw poll", CNN, 2007-03-02. Retrieved on 2007-12-23. 
  36. ^ Brown, Angela. "Hunter wins state's first GOP straw poll", Houston Chronicle. Retrieved on 2007-09-02. 

[edit] External links

Duncan Hunter
Duncan Hunter

Biography
2008 presidential campaign
Political positions
Campaign website: gohunter08.com
MySpace profile: MySpace profile
YouTube profile: YouTube profile
Official sites
Documentaries, topic pages and databases
Media coverage

[edit] See also

v • d • e
United States presidential election, 2008
Results Template · Candidates (Comparison) · Debates · Congressional support · Fundraising · Ballot access Timeline
Primaries and Polling
Democratic Party
Democratic candidates
Republican Party
Republican candidates
Constitution Party
(Convention)
Green Party
(Convention)
Libertarian Party
(Convention)
Prohibition Party
Candidates: Gene AmondsonN · Earl Dodge
VP Candidate: Leroy Pletten
Socialism and Liberation
Candidate: Gloria La RivaN
VP Candidate: Eugene Puryear
Socialist Party USA
Candidate: Brian MooreN
VP Candidate: Stewart Alexander
Socialist Workers Party
Candidate: Róger CaleroN
VP Candidate: Alyson Kennedy
Independent candidates
Draft movements
Candidates shown in italics have withdrawn or suspended their candidacies, or were not their party's nominee.
N = Nominee of that party.
PN = Presumptive nominee of that party.
* Has received delegates from the Green Party, but is not a member of it.
Other 2008 elections: House · Senate · Gubernatorial