Duncan D. Hunter facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Duncan Hunter
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California |
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| In office January 3, 2009 – January 13, 2020 |
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| Preceded by | Duncan L. Hunter |
| Succeeded by | Darrell Issa |
| Constituency | 52nd district (2009–2013) 50th district (2013–2020) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Duncan Duane Hunter
December 7, 1976 San Diego, California, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse |
Margaret Jankowski
(m. 1998; div. 2023) |
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives | Duncan L. Hunter (father) |
| Education | San Diego State University (BS) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Marine Corps |
| Years of service | 2001–2005 (active) 2005–2017 (reserve) |
| Rank |  Major |
| Unit | 1st Battalion, 11th Marines |
| Battles/wars | War in Afghanistan Iraq War |
| Legal Details | |
| Criminal status | Pardoned |
| Criminal charge | Misuse of campaign funds |
| Penalty | Sentenced to 11 months in federal prison |
Duncan Duane Hunter (born December 7, 1976) is an American former politician and United States Marine. He served as a U.S. representative for California from 2009 to 2020. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Hunter's district included large parts of San Diego County and a small part of Riverside County. He followed in his father's footsteps, as Duncan L. Hunter was the congressman for the same area from 1981 to 2009.
In 2018, Hunter and his wife, Margaret, were investigated for how they used campaign money. In December 2019, Hunter pleaded guilty to one charge of misusing campaign funds. He resigned from Congress in January 2020. He was sentenced to 11 months in prison but was pardoned by President Donald Trump in December 2020 before he began his sentence.
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Early life and education
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Hunter was born in San Diego, California. His parents are Helynn Louise and Duncan L. Hunter. He went to Granite Hills High School in El Cajon, California, and graduated in 1994. He later attended San Diego State University, where he earned a degree in business information systems in 2001.
While in college, Hunter started a web design company with a friend. After graduating, he worked as a business analyst in information technology.
Military service
After the September 11 attacks in 2001, Hunter decided to join the United States Marine Corps. He became a second lieutenant in 2002 and served as a field artillery officer.
He served two tours of duty. His first was in Iraq in 2003, and his second was in Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004. During his service, he took part in major battles, including Operation Vigilant Resolve.
In 2005, Hunter was honorably discharged from active duty. He then started a company that built homes. In 2007, he was called back to active duty and was sent to Afghanistan. He was promoted to major in 2012 and stayed in the Marine Corps Reserve until 2017.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
In 2007, Hunter's father announced he would not run for re-election to Congress. Duncan D. Hunter then decided to run for his father's seat. In 2008, he won the Republican primary election with 72% of the vote.
In the general election, he defeated Democratic nominee Mike Lumpkin, 56% to 39%. Hunter became the first combat veteran of the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan to be elected to Congress.
- 2010: Hunter was re-elected with 63% of the vote.
- 2012: After district lines were redrawn, he won again with 68% of the vote.
- 2014: He won re-election with 71% of the vote.
- 2016: Hunter was re-elected with 63.9% of the vote.
- 2018: This was his closest election. He ran against Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar. Hunter's campaign was criticized for ads that attacked his opponent's background. He won with 51.7% of the vote.
Time in Congress
Hunter was known as a conservative Republican, much like his father. He was a member of the Republican Study Committee, a group of conservative members of the House.
In 2013, he voted against a bill that ended a 16-day government shutdown. He said he voted no because the bill did not lower government spending or the national debt.
Hunter was one of the first members of Congress to support Donald Trump for president in 2016.
In 2019, the Marine Corps asked Hunter to stop using its official logo on his political mail. Federal law does not allow the use of military emblems for political campaigns.
After he was investigated for his campaign spending, Hunter had to step down from all of his committee assignments in August 2018. These included:
- Committee on Armed Services
- Committee on Education and the Workforce
- Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
Political positions
Hunter's voting record was generally conservative. The American Conservative Union gave him a lifetime rating of 93 out of 100.
Economy and healthcare
Hunter voted for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. He wanted to repeal the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) and voted for a plan to replace it.
Environment
Hunter did not believe that climate change is caused by humans. He voted against government limits on greenhouse gas emissions. He supported more oil drilling in the United States to lower gas prices.
Military issues
Hunter often spoke about military topics. He supported a strong military and was concerned about the Navy being spread too thin. He also worked to get medals for service members he felt deserved them, such as Sergeant Rafael Peralta.
He supported some service members who were accused of crimes. He asked President Trump to pardon Lieutenant Clint Lorance, who was convicted of murder while serving in Afghanistan. Trump later pardoned Lorance.
Immigration
Hunter had strong views on immigration. He supported a 2010 Arizona law that increased the power of police to stop people they suspected of being illegal immigrants. He also supported ending birthright citizenship, which gives citizenship to anyone born in the U.S.
Campaign spending issues
In 2016, questions were raised about how Hunter used his campaign funds. The Federal Election Commission began to look into expenses that seemed personal, not political.
In 2017, the Department of Justice started a criminal investigation. The House Ethics Committee also announced it was looking into the matter. Hunter said he had paid back about $60,000 to his campaign for any mistaken charges.
Guilty plea and sentence
On August 21, 2018, a grand jury charged Hunter and his wife with 60 counts, including wire fraud and campaign finance violations. They were accused of using $250,000 in campaign money for personal things like family vacations. At first, both pleaded not guilty.
On June 13, 2019, Margaret Hunter pleaded guilty to one charge and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.
On December 3, 2019, Duncan Hunter changed his plea to guilty on one count of misusing campaign funds. On March 17, 2020, he was sentenced to 11 months in prison. His wife, Margaret, was sentenced to eight months of home confinement and three years of probation.
Resignation and pardon
After pleading guilty, Hunter announced he would resign from Congress. His resignation became official on January 13, 2020. His seat in Congress remained empty until the next election.
Hunter was scheduled to start his prison sentence in January 2021. However, on December 22, 2020, President Donald Trump gave him a full pardon. The next day, Trump also pardoned his wife, Margaret.
Personal life
Hunter married Margaret Jankowski in 1998. They have three children. In 2016, Hunter sold his family's home and moved in with his father.
Margaret Hunter filed for divorce in November 2020. The divorce was finalized in January 2023.
