Duncan Hunter Launches Presidential Bid

Republican Representative Duncan Hunter, best known for his advocacy on behalf of the military, launched a longshot bid for the U.S. presidency Thursday in this early voting state.

"Let's begin this race for the American presidency and let's win," Hunter said.

The 14-term conservative from California, who has made no secret of his White House aspirations, set up a presidential exploratory committee last week for the 2008 election.

He initially announced his intentions in October, becoming the first Republican candidate to declare.

He joins an increasingly crowded Republican field of declared and likely candidates, including Senators John McCain and Sam Brownback, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Hunter, 58, has been a familiar face on Capitol Hill and at the Pentagon. Until Democrats took control of Congress this month, he was chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, the powerful panel that oversees military policy.

However, Hunter is little known outside of Congress and his district. He is a strong opponent of illegal immigration who wants fences extended along the U.S.-Mexico border and supports the prosecution of smugglers bringing illegal immigrants across the border.

Hunter won his U.S. House seat in 1980.