# Jimmy Duncan (politician)

John James Duncan Jr. (born July 21, 1947) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Tennessee's 2nd congressional district from 1988 to 2019. An attorney, former Criminal Court judge, and former long serving member of the Army National Guard, published author and newspaper columnist. He is a member of the Republican Party.

## Early life, education, and legal career

Duncan was born in Lebanon, Tennessee, in Wilson County, Tennessee. His "paternal grandparents were small-acreage farmers in Scott County, which in 1861 left Tennessee, refusing to follow the Volunteer State into the Confederacy, and declared itself 'the Free and Independent state of Scott.'" Duncan's parents were Lois (Swisher) and John Duncan Sr., who "hitchhiked into Knoxville with five dollars in his pocket,' and after an education at the University of Tennessee was elected mayor of Knoxville and then congressman." The elder Duncan was also a co-owner of the Knoxville 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." Duncan also worked as a grocery bagger and salesman at Sears while working his way through school. Duncan supported Barry Goldwater's 1964 presidential campaign, and sent the first paycheck he earned as a bag boy at the local A&P to the Goldwater campaign.
Duncan graduated from Holston High School in Knoxville, Tennessee. He completed his college course work at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 1969 with a Bachelor of Journalism degree and subsequently received a Juris Doctor degree from George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C. in 1973 and was admitted to the bar that same year. He also served in the Army National Guard from 1970 to 1987. He was an attorney in private practice until he became a state court judge for the Criminal Court in Knox County, Tennessee following an appointment by Lamar Alexander. Hee served as Criminal Court judge from 1981 to 1988.
Duncan also served in the Army National Guard from 1970 to 1987, obtaining the ultimate rank of captain.

## U.S. House of Representatives
### Elections

Duncan's father, John Sr., who had represented the Knoxville, 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.
He won reelection fourteen times (1990-2016), generally garnering above 70% of the total vote each time. 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 an independent candidate or a member of the Libertarian 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 replacement Tim Burchett, who was the Knox County, Tennessee Mayor at the time announced his intention to run for the seat shortly thereafter.

## Electoral history

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% |

### Tenure

Duncan voted against authorizing the 2003 War 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. He was one of the most conservative Republicans to do so. Duncan later remarked that the Iraq 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.
Duncan was among only six Republicans to vote against funding for the Iraq War on May 24, 2007. Duncan voted, along with three other Republicans, to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq by April 2008 on July 12, 2007.
On March 10, 2010, Duncan again joined three other Republicans in voting for the removal of troops from Afghanistan. Duncan and Ron Paul were the only members of Congress to vote for the removal of troops from Afghanistan and against all recent bailout and stimulus bills.
He has criticized neoconservatism and supports a non-interventionist foreign policy.
Duncan was a member of the Liberty Caucus, a group of libertarian-minded congressional Republicans. Other members included Walter B. Jones of North Carolina, Roscoe Bartlett of Maryland, Scott Garrett of New Jersey, and Jeff Flake of Arizona. A former neighbor of his district, Zach Wamp of the 3rd district, also belonged to the group during his tenure in the House.
Duncan voted against the Wall 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." 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.
The Family Research Council has rated Duncan as a 92% or above since 2002 and the NRA Political Victory Fund has rated him in equally positive terms. 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 to Chronicles and The American Conservative, both magazines associated with the paleoconservative movement. He has also contributed to numerous trade publications and Capitol Hill newspapers. Duncan has also voiced public support for returning the gold standard.
In April 2016, Duncan endorsed Donald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination.
On 5 January 2017, he was one of only four Republicans to oppose the House's resolution 11 condemning the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334.

### Controversies

In February 2017, Duncan refused to hold any town halls in his district after the election of then recently inaugurated President Donald 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."

### Misuse of campaign funds

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.
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.

### Retirement from Congress

On July 31, 2017, Duncan announced that he would not run for reelection in 2018, citing to spend more time with his family.

### Committee assignments

* Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (Vice Chairman)
** Subcommittee on Aviation (Former Chairman)
** Subcommittee on Highways and Transit (Former Chairman)
** Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials
* United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
** Subcommittee on Transportation and Public Assets
** Subcommittee on National Security

### Caucus memberships

* Congressional Friends of Scotland Caucus (Founding Co-chairman)
* Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus
* Liberty Caucus
* United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus
* Sportsmen's Caucus
* Veterinary Medicine Caucus
* Congressional Constitution Caucus
* Congressional NextGen 9-1-1 Caucus
* U.S.-Japan Caucus

## Post-congressional career

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 a newspaper in Knoxville.

## Personal life

Duncan and his wife Lynn (née Hawkins) were married in 1978. They have four children and eight grandchildren. Lynn died in August 2021. He married Vickie Dowling in May 2022.
He is also the brother of Tennessee State Senator Becky Duncan Massey. After retiring from Congress, Duncan relocated from his home in Knoxville to Bean Station in neighboring Grainger County.