Little-known lawmaker considers presidency

SAN DIEGO – Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter, known in the military echelon for his congressional role but hardly a national name, said Monday he is taking the initial step in a 2008 presidential bid.

“This is going to be a long road; it’s a challenging road. There’s going to be some rough and tumble, but I think it’s the right thing to do for our country,” Hunter, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said at a waterfront news conference here.

The declaration that he will form an exploratory committee allows the 13-term California congressman to begin raising money and organizing supporters in states such as Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina with early Republican presidential contests.

Hunter, 58, is a familiar face on Capitol Hill and at the Pentagon as chairman of the powerful panel that oversees military policy. But not so beyond Washington and San Diego, and his White House bid surprised many Republicans.

Hunter had not been on any list of potential 2008 GOP candidates that included more familiar names such as Arizona Sen. John McCain, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Analysts immediately characterized the quest as a long shot.

“You never say never, but Congressman Hunter faces extremely long odds given that practically no one apart from students of Congress knows who he is,” said Jack Pitney, a government professor at Claremont McKenna College. “He’s a good member of Congress, a very effective chairman of Armed Services. It’s just that he has no following within the party.”