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Republican Hunter Drops Out of '08 Race

January 19, 2008 7:03 PM

ABC News' Teddy David reports: Following a disappointing finish in the Nevada Republican caucuses, Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., has decided to end his White House bid, according to campaign manager Roy Tyler.

Hunter, who represents next-door California in Congress, came in seventh of seven Republicans in the Nevada caucuses, garnering only 2 percent support.

Tyler told ABC News that, once the California congressman started getting excluded from the GOP debates, voters thought that he was not even in the race.

Hunter will refocus his attention on his congressional duties.

He will make a formal announcement on Saturday evening at the pier in San Diego, Calif., the same location he used to enter the race.

Hunter's presidential campaign focused on fair trade, border security, and a strong military.

January 19, 2008 in Gravel, Mike | Permalink | User Comments (10)

Hunter to Media: You "Arrogant Knucklehead"

January 07, 2008 3:35 PM

ABC News' Z. Byron Wolf Reports: Congressman Duncan Hunter enticed reporters to a press conference this afternoon by proclaiming he had a "major announcement" about his beleaguered campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.

But he did not -- as was implied by "major announcement" -- drop out.

The Republican Congressman from California went on a tirade in Manchester, N.H. on Monday about the "knucklehead" corporate media executives, specifically at ABC News and Fox News, who kept him out of debates on Saturday (ABC News/Facebook/WMUR) and Sunday (Fox News) here in New Hampshire. He used the word knucklehead about 15 times.

"What burden have you borne?" he asked. Hunter, who served in the Army during Vietnam and whose son is a Marine, also proclaimed, "how many children have you sent to the theaters of war in Afghanistan and Iraq?"

Hunter complained that while he was barred from the ABC News and Fox News debate, he got 8 percent of the vote at the caucus in Wyoming on January 5th. So while neither Arizona Sen. John McCain nor former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has any official delegates in the Republican Primary, Hunter does.

"Last time I checked one is more than zero," he said.

Both McCain and Giuliani poll much higher than Hunter nationally, where Hunter barely registers, as well as in primary and early caucus states.

ABC News required candidates taking part in their debate in New Hampshire to register at five percent support in in one of eight scientific polls, or to place 4th in the Iowa caucus in order to participate. This allowed Congressman Ron Paul, R-Tex., to take part in ABC News' debate, but not in Fox's "forum," where candidates needed at least 10 percent support in national polling.

Hunter said he is more qualified than any of the other Republican candidates when it comes to foreign policy. Hunter is a former chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. McCain would have chaired the Senate Armed Services Committee in 2007 if Republicans had not lost control of Congress in 2006. Both men are now the ranking members of their respective committees.

"I am not going to let some arrogant knucklehead executive in a glass office 10 stories above a mall in New York City decide the outcome of this election," Hunter said. "That is for the voters of New Hampshire to decide."

January 7, 2008 in Gravel, Mike | Permalink | User Comments (8)

Hunter Points to Wyoming Showing as Debate Credential

January 05, 2008 7:19 PM

ABC News' Z. Byron Wolf Reports: Congressman Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., arguing that since he won delegates in Wyoming with his 10 percent third place finish in the caucus there today, is crying foul of his exclusion from the ABC News/Facebook and Fox News Debates. Some of Hunter's Republican rivals, who were invited to join both debates, haven’t won any delegates in any state thus far.

In order to encourage supporters to protest his exclusion, the Hunter campaign has distributed the e-mail address of ABC News Political Director, David Chalian. For Fox News, the campaign just circulates the e-mail address available for generic comments.

Hunter will host his own town hall meeting tonight at the Radisson Hotel in Manchester, N.H., alongside his most prominent backer, Chuck Yeager.

Congressman Ron Paul, R-Texas, who is excluded only from the Fox News debate, will also hold his own hall meeting tomorrow evening. Paul’s event will be simulcast on public access and on the Internet (a local network affiliate would sell the airtime but would not put Paul’s program up live).

January 5, 2008 in Gravel, Mike | Permalink | User Comments (10)

New Hampshire GOP Ditches FOX Over Paul and Hunter Diss

January 05, 2008 4:44 PM

ABC News' Z. Byron Wolf Reports: The New Hampshire Republican Party is officially withdrawing itself as a sponsor of the FOX News Forum Sunday in New Hampshire.

Party leaders object to the network's exclusion of Rep. Ron Paul, R-Tex. -- who received 10 percent of the votes at the Iowa caucuses, and Duncan Hunter, who received none.

They had called earlier in the week for FOX to change its criteria and include Paul and Hunter.
Hunter does not register on national polls, but Paul does have support in the single digits.

Paul is expecting to do better in New Hampshire, where voters pride themselves on their independence.
"The first-in-the-nation New Hampshire primary serves a national purpose by giving all candidates an equal opportunity on a level playing field.

Only in New Hampshire do lesser known, lesser funded underdogs have a fighting chance to establish themselves as national figures," said New Hampshire Party Chairman Fergus Cullen in a written statement posted on the party's website and circulated to reporters  by the Paul campaign.

"Consistent with that tradition," Cullen said, "we believe all recognized major candidates should have an equal opportunity to participate in pre-primary debates and forums."

"This principle applies to tonight's debates on ABC as well as Sunday's planned forum on FOX. The New Hampshire Republican Party believes Congressmen Ron Paul and Duncan Hunter should be included in the FOX forum on Sunday evening. Our mutual efforts to resolve this difference have failed."

"While we understand that FOX News continues to move forward it is with regret, the New Hampshire Republican Party hereby withdraws as a partner in this forum."

Paul's campaign spokesman applauded the move.

"The New Hampshire Republican Party did the right thing by pulling its sponsorship for Fox’s candidate forum," said Ron Paul 2008 spokesman Jesse Benton. "Fox News' decision to exclude Congressman Paul is unfair, but it won't stop Dr. Paul's message of freedom, peace and prosperity from resonating with the people of New Hampshire."

January 5, 2008 in Gravel, Mike, McCain, John, Thompson, Fred | Permalink | User Comments (22)

Hunter Waters the Plant

November 29, 2007 5:39 PM

ABC's Z. Byron Wolf Reports: Duncan Hunter loves a good fight, especially when his rhetorical opponent is Hillary Clinton.

After it became apparent that the retired gay Brigadier General, Keith Kerr, who asked Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., to defend the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy toward homosexuals at Wednesday's Republican debate was in fact an outspoken supporter of Sen. Clinton, D-N.Y., the Democratic nominee whose husband (no little bit of irony here) enacted the "don't ask, don't tell" policy at the outset of his presidency, Hunter penned a short, playful, and sort of odd letter to the former first lady.

Here is the letter in its entirety:

November 29, 2007

Dear Senator 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

It should be noted, the Clinton campaign has disavowed any formal association with Kerr.

"At last night's GOP debate, Retired General Keith Kerr posed a question to the GOP field but was not identified as a supporter of Senator Clinton. General Kerr is not a campaign employee and was not acting on behalf of the Clinton campaign," said Clinton campaign spokesperson Phil Singer.

At the debate, Kerr, who was in the audience, told Hunter via a grainy Youtube video: "I want to know why you think that American men and women in uniform are not professional enough to serve with gays and lesbians?"

Hunter, an airborne ranger during Vietnam and whose son Duncan Duane Hunter is currently serving as a Marine Captain in Afghanistan, responded, "General, thanks for your service, but I believe in what Colin Powell said when he said that having openly homosexual people serving in the ranks would be bad for unit cohesion."

Hunter continued to explain his position, "The reason for that, even though people point to the Israelis and point to the Brits and point to other people as having homosexuals serve, is that most Americans, most kids who leave that breakfast table and go out and serve in the military and make that corporate decision with their family, most of them are conservatives. They have conservative values, and they have Judeo-Christian values." 

"To force those people to work in a small tight unit with somebody who is openly homosexual goes against what they believe to be their principles, and it is their principles, is I think a disservice to them.  I agree with Colin Powell that it would be bad for unit cohesion," the California Congressman concluded.

November 29, 2007 in Bush, George W., Gravel, Mike, Thompson, Fred | Permalink | User Comments (5)