Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- California congressman Duncan Hunter, who is pro-life, says he is exploring a potential presidential bid in 2008. Hunter, a Republican who has represented the San Diego area for 26 years, would provide pro-life advocates with another alternative to abortion advocates such as Rudy Giuliani and George Pataki.

Hunter, who is up for re-election this year in his relatively safe Congressional district, says that, as he finished his final two years in the House, "I'm also going to prepare to run for president of the United States in 2008.''

"This is going to be a long road, it's a challenging road, there's going to be some rough and tumble, but I think it's the right thing to do for our country,'' Hunter said.

Hunter will form an exploratory committee, which allows him to begin raising funds and conducing grassroots organizing in early presidential primary and caucus states such as Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

While in Congress, Hunter has compiled an especially strong pro-life voting record.

Hunter has a 100 percent pro-life voting record on several dozen votes covering abortion, euthanasia and stem cell research issues going back to at least 1997, according to the National Right to Life Committee.

He has voted to oppose spending tax dollars on abortion in various circumstances, supported parental notification and a partial-birth abortion ban and voted twice to prevent forcing taxpayers from paying for embryonic stem cell research.

Hunter isn't nationally known, which may make it difficult for him to attract support in other states, but he may be able to make the case that he could potentially carry California for the Republican Party, which hasn't supported a Republican candidate in decades.

Rep. Hunter, who is an attorney, became chairman of the House Armed Services Committee in 2003 and is a Viet Nam veteran who was awarded the Bronze Star and has represented the eastern San Diego suburbs since the Reagan years.

Other potential Republican candidates for president include Arizona Sen. John McCain, pro-life Sens. Sam Brownback of Kansas and George Allen of Virginia, and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Related web sites:
Duncan Hunter - http://www.house.gov/hunter
National Right to Life - http://www.nrlc.org