Co-Chairman's Biographies
Congressman Duncan D. Hunter represents California's 52nd Congressional District consisting of East and Northern County San Diego. In 2008, Hunter was elected to his first term in the House of Representatives, succeeding his father, Duncan L. Hunter, who retired after serving 14 consecutive terms in Congress.
Hunter is a native of San Diego. He graduated from Granite Hills High School in El Cajon and earned a degree in Business Administration from San Diego State University. Hunter worked to pay for his education by creating websites and programming databases and ecommerce systems for high-tech companies. Immediately after graduation, he went to work full time in San Diego as a Business Analyst.
Soon after our nation was attacked on September 11, 2001, Hunter quit his job and joined the United States Marine Corps. Hunter entered active service as a Lieutenant in 2002 and excelled in the area of field artillery, much like his grandfather, Robert O. Hunter, who was a Marine Corps artillery officer in World War II.
Over the course of his service career, Hunter served three combat tours overseas: two in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. In 2003, Hunter deployed to Iraq with the 1st Marine Division. Hunter completed his second tour in 2004, where he and his fellow Marines were at the center of combat operations in Fallujah, Iraq.
In September 2005, four years after he quit his job and joined the Marine Corps, Hunter was honorably discharged from active military service and started a successful residential development company. Still a Marine Reservist, he was promoted to the rank of Captain in 2006.
Less than two years before Hunter was elected, he was recalled to active duty and deployed to Afghanistan. Hunter returned home after more than six months on the front lines and, with the support of the San Diego community, became the first Marine combat veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan elected to Congress.
Hunter is a strong conservative who is committed to strengthening national security, enforcing our borders, creating opportunities for American workers and protecting the interests of taxpayers. He is also a strong proponent of the Second Amendment, protecting traditional marriage and the rights of the unborn.
Duncan and his wife live in Alpine, California. They are the proud parents of three children: Duncan, Elizabeth and Sarah.
U.S. Congressman Tim Walz is currently serving his third term representing Minnesota’s First Congressional District. The First Congressional District spans the southern part of Minnesota – from the South Dakota border in the west to the Wisconsin border in the east.
Walz proudly serves the people of southern Minnesota on three committees in the United States House of Representatives: Agriculture,Transportation and Infrastructure and Veterans Affairs. He also is one of nine House Members to serve on the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. In the 112th Congress, Walz will serve in leadership posts with the Congressional Rural Caucus and the National Guard and Reserve Caucus.
Tim Walz was born in West Point, Nebraska and is the son of a public school administrator and community activist. As a child, Tim’s parents instilled in him the values of hard work and community service.
Walz enlisted in the Army National Guard at the young age of 17, and retired 24 years later as Command Sergeant Major. Before retiring, Walz served overseas with his battalion in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Walz is the highest ranking enlisted soldier ever to serve in Congress.
In 1989, Walz earned a B.S. in social science education from Chadron State College in Nebraska. Walz spent 1989-1990 teaching high school in China as a part of the first government sanctioned groups of American educators to teach in China through a program at Harvard University.
When he returned from China, Walz began teaching high school in Nebraska. While in Nebraska, Walz met his wife Gwen Whipple. Married in 1994, Tim and Gwen Walz moved back to Gwen’s native southern Minnesota where both began teaching and coaching at Mankato West High School. Walz is presently on unpaid leave from Mankato West High School while he serves in the United States Congress.
Since coming to Congress, Walz has made improving the care of our nation’s veterans a top priority. Last year, the Rochester Post Bulletin said “Walz has relentless energy, and he brings a soldier's work ethic to the House.”
He has been recognized for his work in Congress with awards from AMVETS, the National Association of County Veterans Service Officers, the American Cancer Society, the National Association of Development Organizations, and the Matthew Shepard Foundation
Congressman and Mrs. Walz live in Mankato with their two young children, Hope and Gus.
