Jeff Duncan (politician)

Early life, education, and business career

Duncan was born in Ware Shoals, South Carolina. In 1984, he graduated from Ware Shoals High School. He is a 1988 graduate of Clemson University, where he was a wide receiver on the football team.

Elections

After redistricting, Duncan ran for South Carolina's 15th House District in 2002. In the Republican primary, he defeated David Tribble Jr, Clinton county councilman, 56%–44%. He won the general election with 62% of the vote. In 2004, he won re-election to a second term unopposed. In 2006, he won re-election to a third term with 63% of the vote. In 2008, he won re-election to a fourth term unopposed. In 2010, he retired in order to run for the U.S. House of Representatives. David Tribble, Duncan's primary opponent in 2002, won Duncan's seat.

Tenure

Mark Sanford called him a "taxpayer hero." He was given the guardian of small business award from the National Federation of Independent Businesses, an A+ rating from the Club for Growth, the Palmetto Leadership Award from the SC policy council, and legislator of the year from the SC Recreation and Parks Association and SC Wildlife Federation.

Committee assignments

Duncan was named chairman of the House agriculture, natural resources and environmental affairs committee, in 2007. He was appointed to chair of the education finance study and natural gas offshore drilling study committees and was appointed to represent South Carolina on the southern states energy board.

National security

Duncan supported President Donald Trump's 2017 executive order to ban citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. He tweeted "I'm grateful that @realDonaldTrump is making the safety & security of the American people his top priority. His actions are very appropriate."

Elections

He ran for South Carolina's 3rd congressional district when Republican incumbent U.S. representative J. Gresham Barrett ran for governor of South Carolina. He was an early Tea Party favorite and was endorsed by the Club for Growth and the National Right to Life Committee. In the Republican primary, businessman Richard Cash ranked first with 25% but failed to reach the 50% threshold to win outright. Duncan ranked second in the six candidate field with 23%. In the run-off election, Duncan defeated Cash 51%–49%, a vote difference of 2,171. Duncan won five of the district's ten counties, and were mostly located in the southern part of the CD. He won the general election with 62% of the vote, 2% less than John McCain's 64% vote in 2008. He won nine of the district's ten counties, losing just McCormick (52%–47%). Duncan spent $935,503; Democrat Jane Ballard Dyer spent $272,698.

Duncan successfully ran for re-election in the newly redrawn 3rd district, which excludes Aiken County (McCain won with 62%), and includes two new counties: Newberry (McCain won with 58%) and Greenville (McCain won with 57%). Duncan won re-election to a second term with 67% of the vote.

Duncan successfully ran for re-election in 2014, winning with a modern-day record of 71.18% of the vote.[1] Duncan won against Democrat candidate Barbara Jo Mullis.[2]

Tenure

On the 1st of August 2012, Duncan took part in the ´Chick-fil-a appreciation day´, using Twitter to publicise his purchase of large quantities of fried chicken produce in an apparent endorsement of CEO Dan Cathy´s anti-same-sex marriage sentiments.

In January 2012, The New American's Freedom Index gave Duncan a perfect 100% score for his votes in 2011. He was just one of three members of congress to receive a perfect score, the other two being Walter B. Jones (R-NC) and Ron Paul (R-Texas).

On November 19, 2012, Duncan led a group of 97 Republican U.S. Representatives in writing a letter to President Obama, expressing opposition to the possible nomination of U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice to U.S. Secretary of State.

As of 25 April 2016, Jeff Duncan has the most conservative GovTrack ideology score in the House of Representatives.

Legislation

Duncan was a "Tea Party freshman" in the 112th Congress.

In February, 2011, Duncan introduced a resolution to create a new committee on the elimination of nonessential federal programs in an attempt to reduce federal outlays.

On March 13, 2014, Duncan introduced the DHS Acquisition Accountability and Efficiency Act (H.R. 4228; 113th Congress), a bill that would direct the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to improve the accountability, transparency, and efficiency of its major acquisition programs. The bill would specify procedures for the department to follow if it fails to meet timelines, cost estimates, or other performance parameters for these programs. Duncan argued that "for years, DHS's purchases of major homeland security systems have been late, cost more, and done less than promised. This bill will save taxpayer dollars by forcing DHS to improve its management."

Committee assignments

Personal life

Duncan is married to Melody, with whom he has three sons: Graham, John Philip, and Parker. Jeff, Melody, John Philip, and Parker are members of First Baptist Church in Clinton, South Carolina, while Graham is a member of the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany in Laurens, South Carolina. He lives in Laurens, South Carolina.

Paris terror attacks

Immediately following the November 13, 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, France, the deadliest in that country's recent history, Rep. Duncan tweeted "How's that Syrian refugee resettlement look now? How about that mass migration into Europe? Terrorism is alive & well in the world. #No" Rep. Duncan stated in a recent press release that "Greater offensive action needs to be taken to weaken ISIS's appeal, exploit its vulnerabilities, and weaken its influence over people." Duncan further voiced his concerns at an October 21, 2015, hearing saying, "I will tell you folks in South Carolina are very concerned about our inability to vet properly the refugees that are coming."

June 14, 2017 shooting at Eugene Simpson Stadium Park

The shooter (James Thomas Hodgkinson) asked U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan on June 14, 2017, at the 2017 Congressional baseball shooting right before he opened fire if the Republicans were on the field. NBC reported via closed caption at one point that over 250 bullets had been fired from the shooter, even though the rifle he was using was later identified as an 7.62 x 39 mm SKS rifle with a fixed 10 shot magazine.