Birthday

n May 31, 1948

Education

n He earned a bachelor of science from Western State University in San Diego in 1968, then earned his J.D. at its law school and passed the state bar exam in 1976.

Religious views

n Baptist

Pre-House career

n He served in the 173rd Airborne and 75th Army Rangers from 1969 to 1971, and was awarded the Bronze Star. After graduating from law school, he opened a legal office in Barrio Logan in southeast San Diego.

House career

n He was first elected to Congress in 1980 and has served on the House Armed Services Committee throughout his Senate career. He was chairman of the committee from 2002 to 2006 and is currently a ranking member. Hunter also served as chairman of the Military Research and Development Subcommittee from 2001 to 2002 and the Subcommittee on Military Procurement from 1995 to 2000. He is also a co-chairman of the Task Force to save the Salton Sea, which he and the late Congressman Sonny Bono founded.

Recent legislation

n Duncan co-sponsored legislation that enacted nationwide standards for the issuance of state drivers’ licenses and provided the Secretary of Homeland Security with the authority to complete the remaining 3.5 miles of the San Diego border fence. He also added an amendment to the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Alien Control Act of 2005, which mandated the erection of 698 miles of strategic border fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border, and wrote the Secure Fence Act of 2006, which extends the San Diego fence 854 miles across California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. He co-sponsored the Medicare Access to Rehabilitation Act of 2005, which repealed the $1,500 cap on therapy services covered under Medicare.

Family life

n Hunter lives in East San Diego County with his wife, Lynne, of 33 years. They have two sons, Duncan Duane, who served two tours in Iraq in the U.S. Marine Corps, and Sam, a business student at San Diego State University. Duncan Duane and his wife, Margaret, have three children, Duncan Lee, Elizabeth and Sarah, and reside in Lakeside, Calif. Sam and his wife, Theresa, had their first child, Marin, in October 2006.

Candidacy

n Hunter announced his intention to run for president on Oct. 30, 2006. He announced his candidacy on Jan. 25, 2007. He came in third in a county straw poll in South Carolina on March 1 and won the Texas Republican Straw Poll on Sept. 1, with 41 percent of the vote.