It was November 2016 and Rep. Duncan Hunter was riding high.

He was re-elected by a landslide, again, and his early endorsement of presidential candidate Donald Trump generated talk that Hunter could land a top national security post, even, remarkably, defense secretary.

Several months earlier, an initial investigation had been launched into questionable campaign spending by Hunter and his wife, Margaret, who served as his campaign manager — a probe the congressman publicly dismissed as an unwarranted nuisance.

Speculation about an appointment soon died out and his political standing plummeted.


On Tuesday, Hunter pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to misuse campaign funds for personal expenditures, something Margaret Hunter did in June. He has suggested he will be stepping down, but hasn’t said when. He is expected to discuss the matter with Republican leaders in Washington in the coming days.

For the first time in nearly 40 years, a Duncan Hunter won’t be in Congress.

Now there’s a good chance that the 50th Congressional District centered in San Diego’s East County won’t even be represented by someone who lives in it.

Rep. Duncan D. Hunter has served the district since 2009 and probably could have done so as long as he wanted, had he not gotten into trouble. Until last year, he had been re-elected with relative ease, same as his father, Duncan L. Hunter, who held the seat from 1981 through 2008, when he waged an unsuccessful campaign for president. The father basically handed the seat off and remained highly involved in his son’s political career.


Until Monday, the congressman continued to point toward a re-election bid, even though his prospects of winning seemed slim to none. This time around, he not only faced a criminal trial in January, but big-name Republicans on the March 3 primary ballot.

Politically damaged though he may have been, Hunter did not draw many harsh words from his GOP opponents. The Hunter family has been a pillar of political and civic affairs in the region, and while support for the congressman has been dwindling, offending his backers would have been counterproductive to efforts to attract them. Besides, there seemed little reason to attack the incumbent when polls suggested he was a long shot to advance out of the primary to the November general election.

The situation might have been most awkward for former Rep. Darrell Issa, who served with both Hunters in Congress. He said he had informed both father and son of his plan to run. Issa said publicly that he had no problem with Hunter’s voting record, but, like other GOP candidates, was concerned about losing a heavily Republican district to a Democrat if the incumbent made it to the fall 2020 election.

Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar came within 3.4 percentage points of defeating Hunter in November 2018 and is running again — with better name recognition, a stronger organization and a broader fundraising base than before. He is the only Democrat in the race so far.


Issa and former San Diego City Council member Carl DeMaio, who recently had been a radio talk-show host, have the most resources and highest poll numbers of the GOP candidates. Neither, however, live in the district. East County is often viewed as more parochial in character than other parts of the county, though it’s uncertain how much the residency issue will matter. The 50th District stretches up to Temecula in southern Riverside County.

Candidates are not required by law to live within a congressional district they seek to represent. Further, Issa and DeMaio are hardly unknown in the district. Issa, who lives in Vista, represented a portion of the area before his 49th District was reapportioned following the census. DeMaio lives close to the district line in Rancho Bernardo, has been a regular presence at community gatherings for months, and has been a regional political figure for years.

State Sen. Brian Jones is a longtime resident of Santee who has represented the area in local and state government and has strong ties to local faith-based groups. Yet he polled at 4 percent in an October San Diego Union-Tribune/10News poll conducted by SurveyUSA. (Campa-Najjar had 31 percent support, DeMaio 20 percent, Issa 16 percent and Hunter 11 percent. Independents David Edick Jr. and Helen Horvath received 1 and 2 percent, respectively.)

Several political analysts agree Hunter not being on the ballot likely strengthens the GOP’s grip on the district. Campa-Najjar’s best shot of winning next year would have been against the besieged incumbent.


Hunter seemed to get the benefit of the doubt from many voters in last year’s election, though since then more details about his use of campaign funds and carousing have surfaced in prosecution court filings. Fatigue of the Hunter drama was setting in.

Still, his positions on combating illegal immigration and support for the military and veterans have long been in sync with the majority of voters. He joined the Marines after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and served in multiple combat zones — something that has drawn wide praise, even from critics.

He has been a staunch ally and defender of President Trump, who won the 50th District by 15 points. Hunter even mimicked some of Trump’s rhetoric in claiming that he was the victim of a “witch hunt” by the “deep state” and that the allegations against him were “fake news.”

Trump criticized the former attorney general over federal prosecutions of Hunter and then-Rep. Chris Collins, a New York Republican who pleaded guilty to insider trading two months ago.


“Two long running, Obama era, investigations of two very popular Republican Congressmen were brought to a well publicized charge, just ahead of the Mid-Terms, by the Jeff Sessions Justice Department. Two easy wins now in doubt because there is not enough time. Good job Jeff......,” Trump said on Twitter in September 2018.

Dreams of a big appointment for Hunter evaporated three years ago. Now, the best he can hope for is that his early support for Trump may help him land a presidential pardon.

