Hunter takes Arizona GOP straw poll

Hunter takes Arizona GOP straw poll
By: MARK WALKER - Staff Writer

NORTH COUNTY -- U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter's long-shot bid for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination got a boost over the weekend when he emerged on top in a straw poll of Republican precinct committeemen in Arizona's most-populated county.Hunter, R-El Cajon, got 96 votes among the 458 ballots in the non-binding poll of Maricopa County party officials asked to list their first choice for president.

Hunter easily beat Arizona's own U.S. Sen. John McCain, considered a front-runner in the GOP presidential race, who drew a comparatively paltry 50 votes. Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney came in second in Saturday's poll with 82 first-place votes.

Campaigning in South Carolina on Monday, Hunter said he believes his long-held positions on two key national issues carried the day with the conservative Arizona Republicans from the county that includes Phoenix."It's great news," Hunter said during a telephone interview. "I think the message of a strong national defense and border security issues has resonated in Arizona."

The 52nd Congressional District congressman who represents parts of Poway, Rancho Bernardo and Ramona has long championed the military and Bush administration policies in Iraq. He is now the ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, a panel he chaired until Democrats won control of the new Congress.On border issues, Hunter long stressed the need for better security. He sponsored a bill last year to build a fence along the entire border. While that measure was adopted by the House and Senate, the money to build it has not been appropriated.

Lyle Tuttle, the Maricopa County Republican Committee chairman, said Hunter's showing wasn't expected."I was surprised, but when you look at it you see that Duncan is a pretty solid conservative and he should take pride in that he scored so well."Tuttle said McCain's stance on immigration in which he favors amnesty for illegal immigrants hurts with the Phoenix-area Republicans as well as the GOP's rank and file across Arizona, a state that like California shares a border with Mexico."That and his attempt to appeal to the center of the political spectrum have not played with the conservative people here in Arizona," Tuttle said during a telephone interview.

The poll also shows GOP candidates that they shouldn't assume that Arizona will go to McCain."Arizona is very much in play," Tuttle said. "This straw poll demonstrates that candidates who might be tempted to ignore campaigning here ... may make a big mistake."The 58-year-old Hunter did not fare as well in the straw poll when the Arizona party officials were asked to list acceptable presidential candidates.

In that category, the 13-term lawmaker tied for seventh-place with GOP hopeful Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas.Last week, Hunter filed his formal presidential exploratory committee papers with the Federal Election Commission, a step that allows him to begin accepting and spending campaign contributions.He plans to make his formal announcement for president in San Diego sometime before the end of the month. He announced he was considering the run in November and said he would not seek re-election to his House seat.

Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.