Opinion: Who is that man?

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He’s a 14-term Republican Congressman from San Diego County who’s struggled to raise $1.2 million in a $100 million contest. He barely registers in national election polls, has virtually no organization in Iowa and runs his campaign in New Hampshire with eight volunteers.

It’s Duncan Hunter, the 59-year-old Vietnam veteran with--until this page one On the Trail story by The Times’ Scott Martelle--no media coverage. Good luck going up against the well-oiled, even-better-funded political machinery of Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani.

But Hunter is hanging in there, pushing his plans to revive the American industrial base, toughen border security and build an even stronger national defense.

He’s working the parade route in a New Hampshire town. People are politely shaking his hand, some unsure who he is. So why is he running?

Well, for one thing this is one of the few truly open races for the presidency in five or six decades. And for another Hunter thinks he can win. Our man Martelle explains why in this behind-the-scenes look.

--Andrew Malcolm