Jimmy Duncan (U.S. politician)

For other usages of the name John Duncan, see John Duncan (disambiguation).

John J. Duncan, Jr.
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 2nd district
Incumbent
Assumed office November 8, 1988
Preceded by	John Duncan, Sr.
Personal details
Born	July 21, 1947 (1947-07-21) Lebanon, Tennessee
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Lynn Duncan
Residence	Knoxville, Tennessee
Alma mater	University of Tennessee, George Washington University
Occupation	attorney, judge
Religion	Presbyterian
Military service
Service/branch	United States Army National Guard United States Army
Years of service	1970-1987

John James "Jimmy" Duncan, Jr. (born July 21, 1947) is the U.S. Representative for Tennessee's 2nd congressional district, serving since 1988. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district is based in Knoxville.

Early life, education, and legal career

Duncan was born in Lebanon, Tennessee. His "paternal grandparents were small farmers in Scott County, which in 1861 left Tennessee, refusing to follow the Volunteer State into the Confederacy, and declared itself 'the Free and Independent state of Scott.'" Duncan's father, John Duncan, Sr. "hitchhiked into Knoxville with five dollars in his pocket,' and after an education at the University of Tennessee was elected mayor of Knoxville and then congressman." The elder Duncan was also a co-owner of the Knoxville Smokies of the "Sally League," for which his son "was a batboy, a ball shagger, scoreboard operator, and, as a freshman at the University of Tennessee, the Smokies’ public-address announcer." Duncan also worked as a grocery bagger and salesman at Sears while working his way though school. Duncan supported Barry Goldwater's 1964 presidential campaign, and sent the first paycheck he earned as a bagboy at the local A&P to the Goldwater campaign.

Duncan graduated from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 1969 with a Bachelor of Journalism degree and subsequently received a Juris Doctor degree from George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C. in 1973 and was admitted to the bar that same year. He also served in the Army National Guard from 1970 to 1987. He was an attorney in private practice until he became a state court judge in Knox County, Tennessee, where he served from 1981 to 1988.

The Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law in Knoxville, TN was named after Jimmy Duncan and subsequently denied provisional accreditation by the American Bar Association.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

He was first elected to Congress in 1988, in a special election to succeed his late father, John Duncan, Sr. and elected to the seat for a full term in his own right the same day. He has been re-elected every two years since then from a district that has been held continuously by Republicans (or their antecedents) since 1859, and by a Duncan since his father was first elected in 1964. He has never faced a serious or well-funded challenge for reelection, and was reelected without major-party opposition from 1994 through 2000.

Tenure

Duncan voted against authorizing the War in Iraq based on opposition to what he believed to be an unnecessary foreign involvement. He also opposed and voted against a June 2006 House declaration in support of the war. He was one of the most conservative Republicans to do so. Duncan later remarked that the Iraq War vote had been

“

a tough one for me. I have a very conservative Republican district. My Uncle Joe is one of the most respected judges in Tennessee: when I get in a really serious bind I go to him for advice. I had breakfast with him and my two closest friends and all three told me that I had to vote for the war. It’s the only time in my life that I’ve ever gone against my Uncle Joe’s advice. When I pushed that button to vote against the war back in 2002, I thought I might be ending my political career.

”

Duncan and Ron Paul were the only two Republicans to vote against funding for the Iraq War on May 24, 2007. Duncan voted, along with three other Republicans, to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq by April 2008 on July 12, 2007.

On March 10, 2010, Duncan again joined three other Republicans in voting for the removal of troops from Afghanistan. Duncan and Paul were the only members of Congress to vote for the removal of troops from Afghanistan and against all recent bailout and stimulus bills.

Duncan is a member of the Liberty Caucus (sometimes called the Liberty Committee), a group of libertarian-minded congressional Republicans. Congressman Ron Paul hosts a luncheon for the Liberty Caucus every Thursday. Other members include Walter B. Jones of North Carolina, Roscoe Bartlett of Maryland, Scott Garrett of New Jersey, Zach Wamp of Tennessee and Jeff Flake of Arizona. Despite the moderate Republican, he voted against the Wall Street bailout. Duncan, in a column explaining his vote, stated he "thought it would be better in the long run not to adopt the socialist approach." According to National Journal’s 2009 Vote Ratings, he was ranked as the 133rd conservative member in the House.

The Family Research Council has rated Duncan as a 92% or above since 2002 and the NRA has rated him in equally positive terms. He "annually rates among the most parsimonious House members in the report cards of the National Taxpayers Union."

Duncan is a frequent contributor to Chronicles, a magazine associated with the paleoconservative movement, and American Conservative magazine. He has also contributed to numerous trade publications and Capitol Hill newspapers.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Natural Resources
  • Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands
• Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
  • Subcommittee on Aviation
  • Subcommittee on Highways and Transit (Chairman)
  • Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment

Caucus memberships

• Congressional Friends of Scotland Caucus (Co-Chairman)
• Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus
• International Conservation Caucus
• Sportsmen's Caucus

External links

• U.S. Congressman John J. Duncan, Jr. official U.S. House site
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Profile at SourceWatch Congresspedia
• Video of Duncan explaining why supporting the Iraq war isn't conservative
• Video and transcript of Duncan speech in the House explaining that the War on Terror is a Major Profit Center

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by John Duncan, Sr.	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 2nd congressional district 1988–present	Incumbent
United States order of precedence
Preceded by Frank Pallone D-New Jersey	United States Representatives by seniority 42nd	Succeeded by Eliot Engel D-New York