Jimmy Duncan | |
|---|---|
.png) Official portrait, 2018 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromTennessee's2nd district | |
| In office November 8, 1988 – January 3, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | John Duncan Sr. |
| Succeeded by | Tim Burchett |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John James Duncan Jr. (1947-07-21)July 21, 1947 (age 78) Lebanon, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 4 |
| Parent |
|
| Education | University of Tennessee (BA) George Washington University (JD) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1970–1987 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | United States Army Reserve • Tennessee Army National Guard |
Duncan on howAndrew Jackson relates to modern American politics. Recorded October 13, 2011 | |
John James Duncan Jr. (born July 21, 1947) is an American politician who served as theU.S. representative forTennessee's 2nd congressional district from 1988 to 2019. An attorney, former Criminal Court judge, and former long serving member of theArmy National Guard, published author and newspaper columnist. He is a member of theRepublican Party.
Duncan was born inLebanon, Tennessee, inWilson County, Tennessee. His "paternal grandparents were small-acreage farmers inScott County, which in 1861 left Tennessee, refusing to follow the Volunteer State into theConfederacy, and declared itself 'the Free and Independentstate of Scott.'"[1] Duncan's parents were Lois (Swisher) andJohn Duncan Sr., who "hitchhiked intoKnoxville with five dollars in his pocket,' and after an education at theUniversity of Tennessee was elected mayor of Knoxville and then congressman."[1] The elder Duncan was also a co-owner of theKnoxville 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."[1] Duncan also worked as a grocery bagger and salesman atSears while working his way through school. Duncan supportedBarry Goldwater's1964 presidential campaign, and sent the first paycheck he earned as a bag boy at the localA&P to the Goldwater campaign.[1]
Duncan graduated from Holston High School in Knoxville, Tennessee. He completed his college course work at theUniversity of Tennessee at Knoxville in 1969 with aBachelor of Journalism degree and subsequently received aJuris Doctor degree fromGeorge Washington University Law School inWashington, D.C. in 1973 and was admitted to thebar that same year. He also served in theArmy National Guard from 1970 to 1987. He was anattorney in private practice until he became a state courtjudge for the Criminal Court inKnox County, Tennessee following an appointment byLamar Alexander. He served as Criminal Court judge from 1981 to 1988.
Duncan also served in theArmy National Guard from 1970 to 1987, obtaining the ultimate rank of captain.[2][3]
Duncan's father, John Sr., who had represented theKnoxville, Tennessee based 2nd District since 1965, died in June 1988. Jimmy Duncan won the Republican nomination to succeed him. He ran in and won two elections on November 8, 1988. The first election being a special election for the balance of his father's 12th term, followed by a regular election for a full two-year term following his father's term. He was re-elected every two years from then until his retirement from a district that had been held continuously by Republicans (or their antecedents) since 1859, and by a Duncan since his father was first elected in 1964.[1]
He won reelection fourteen times (1990-2016), generally garnering above 70% of the total vote each time.[4] He never faced a serious or well-funded challenge for reelection, and was reelected without major-party opposition in four consecutive elections (1994 through 2000). For four the general elections from 1990 to 2000 Duncan's primary challenger came from anindependent candidate or a member of theLibertarian Party. On the occasions he did face major-party opposition, he only dropped below 70% of the vote twice, during the special and regular elections in 1988, while surpassing the 80% threshold 5 times and once exceeding 90% of the total vote.
In 2017, he announced he would not seek re-election in the 2018 election for Tennessee's 2nd District, and would instead retire. His eventual replacementTim Burchett, who was theKnox County, Tennessee Mayor at the time announced his intention to run for the seat shortly thereafter.[5]
U.S. House, Tennessee' 2nd Congressional District (General Election) | ||||||||||||
| Year | Winning candidate | Party | Votes | Pct | Opponent | Party | Votes | Pct | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Jimmy Duncan | Republican | 99,631 | 56.23% | Dudley W. Taylor | Democratic | 77,540 | 43.76% | ||||
| 1990 | Jimmy Duncan | Republican | 62,797 | 80.57% | Peter Herbert | Independent | 15,127 | 19.41% | ||||
| 1992 | Jimmy Duncan | Republican | 148,377 | 72.24% | Troy Goodale | Democratic | 52,887 | 25.75% | ||||
| 1994 | Jimmy Duncan | Republican | 128,937 | 90.49% | Various | Independent | 13,545 | 9.51% | ||||
| 1996 | Jimmy Duncan | Republican | 150,953 | 70.68% | Stephen Smith | Democratic | 61,020 | 28.57% | ||||
| 1998 | Jimmy Duncan | Republican | 90,860 | 88.64% | Various | Independent | 11,642 | 11.36% | ||||
| 2000 | Jimmy Duncan | Republican | 187,154 | 89.34% | Kevin J. Rowland | Libertarian | 22,304 | 10.65% | ||||
| 2002 | Jimmy Duncan | Republican | 146,887 | 78.98% | John Greene | Democratic | 37,035 | 19.91% | ||||
| 2004 | Jimmy Duncan | Republican | 215,795 | 79.07% | John Greene | Democratic | 52,155 | 19.11% | ||||
| 2006 | Jimmy Duncan | Republican | 157,095 | 77.72% | John Greene | Democratic | 45,025 | 22.28% | ||||
| 2008 | Jimmy Duncan | Republican | 227,128 | 78.12% | Bob Scott | Democratic | 63,639 | 21.89% | ||||
| 2010 | Jimmy Duncan | Republican | 141,796 | 81.78% | Dave Hancock | Democratic | 25,400 | 14.65% | ||||
| 2012 | Jimmy Duncan | Republican | 196,894 | 74.44% | Troy Goodale | Democratic | 54,522 | 20.61% | ||||
| 2014 | Jimmy Duncan | Republican | 120,883 | 77.44% | Bob Scott | Democratic | 37,621 | 24.10% | ||||
| 2016 | Jimmy Duncan | Republican | 212,455 | 75.65% | Stuart Starr | Democratic | 68,401 | 24.35% | ||||
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Duncan voted against authorizing the 2003War 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.[6] He was one of the mostconservative Republicans to do so.[7] Duncan later remarked that theIraq War vote had been
[The War in Iraq was] 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.[1]
Duncan was among only six Republicans to vote against funding for theIraq War on May 24, 2007.[8] Duncan voted, along with three other Republicans, to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq by April 2008 on July 12, 2007.[9]
On March 10, 2010, Duncan again joined three other Republicans in voting for the removal of troops from Afghanistan.[10] Duncan andRon Paul were the only members of Congress to vote for the removal of troops from Afghanistan and against all recent bailout and stimulus bills.[11]
He has criticizedneoconservatism[citation needed] and supports anon-interventionist foreign policy.[12][non-primary source needed]
Duncan was a member of theLiberty Caucus, a group oflibertarian-minded congressional Republicans.[13] Other members includedWalter B. Jones ofNorth Carolina,Roscoe Bartlett ofMaryland,Scott Garrett ofNew Jersey, andJeff Flake ofArizona. A former neighbor of his district,Zach Wamp of the 3rd district, also belonged to the group during his tenure in the House.[14]
Duncan voted against theWall Street bailout. In a column he explained his vote stating he "thought it would be better in the long run not to adopt the socialist approach."[15] The American Conservative Union gave Duncan a 96% score for his voting record in 2013, higher than any other federal Representative in Congress from Tennessee.[16]
TheFamily Research Council has rated Duncan as a 92% or above since 2002[7] and theNRA Political Victory Fund has rated him in equally positive terms.[17][7] In 2012, Duncan received the number one spot in the 435-member House in the National Taxpayers Union's (NTU) annual ranking of Congress, earning him the "Taxpayer Hero" award.
Duncan is a frequent contributor toChronicles andThe American Conservative, both magazines associated with thepaleoconservative movement. He has also contributed to numerous trade publications and Capitol Hill newspapers. Duncan has also voiced public support for returning the gold standard.[18]
In April 2016, Duncan endorsedDonald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination.[19]
On 5 January 2017, he was one of only four Republicans to oppose the House's resolution 11 condemning theUnited Nations Security Council Resolution 2334.[20][non-primary source needed]
In February 2017, Duncan refused to hold any town halls in his district after the election of then recently inaugurated PresidentDonald Trump. Duncan said that he preferred one-on-one meetings rather than town halls, adding that he was not willing to give a platform to "extremists, kooks and radicals."[21]
Duncan was accused of misuse of campaign funds for using them to pay his son almost $300,000 over the course of five years, for work not done or for fees that were too high. Duncan denied the charges.[22]
However his son, John Duncan III (R) a Knox County Trustee, pled guilty to a felony charge of official misconduct for handing out bonuses to his own staff for training they had not received. Duncan III resigned from office and was given one year of probation. His charges are now expunged.[23][24]
On July 31, 2017, Duncan announced that he would not run for reelection in 2018, citing to spend more time with his family.[25]
Following his retirement from the U.S. House of Representatives Duncan published a book about his life and career titled "From Batboy to Congressman." He also is a regular columnist for anewspaper in Knoxville.[31]
Duncan and his wife Lynn (née Hawkins) were married in 1978.[32] They have four children and eight grandchildren.[33] Lynn died in August 2021.[34][35][36] He married Vickie Dowling in May 2022.[37]
He is also the brother of Tennessee State SenatorBecky Duncan Massey. After retiring from Congress, Duncan relocated from his home in Knoxville toBean Station in neighboringGrainger County.[38]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromTennessee's 2nd congressional district 1988–2019 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Representative | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Representative |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
