FreedomWorks' Member of the Month for September 2019: Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.)

FreedomWorks is proud to honor Rep. Jeff Duncan as our member of the month for September 2019. Representing South Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District, which encompasses much of the western part of the state, Rep. Duncan has proven to be a strong ally for liberty.

Born in Greenville, South Carolina, Duncan’s family spent much of his childhood moving across the South for business. After graduating from Ware Shoals High School, Duncan attended Clemson University where he played wide receiver as a walk-on for the Tigers. Following graduation, he worked as an executive in local banking before starting his own real estate marketing firm specializing in auctions. In 2002, he primaried the incumbent of South Carolina’s 15th House District, winning the general election with 62 percent of the vote.

Duncan served a distinguished eight-year career in the South Carolina House, chairing both the House Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs Committee and the Education Finance Study and Natural Gas Offshore Drilling Study Committee. It was in 2010 that Duncan vacated his seat in the South Carolina House to run for the U.S. House of Representatives.

As with many Republicans elected in the 2010 election, Jeff Duncan was the clear Tea Party favorite, promoting a platform of liberty and fiscal conservatism. Since barely squeaking by in a run-off election against an establishment Republican, Duncan has stayed true to his campaign promises and has been rewarded by the people of South Carolina with nearly 73 percent of the vote in 2016.

Unlike many of the members of Congress who don’t practice what they preach, Duncan has consistently upheld his original platform of Tea Party values. As a champion for fiscal responsibility, Rep. Duncan has maintained a 96 percent lifetime score in FreedomWorks scorecard, which recognizes members who consistently vote to uphold conservative principles. Rep. Duncan has shown that he is an excellent vote in Congress, but he’s done more than just vote well.

Rep. Duncan has been a key ally in the fight to rid the American people of burdensome regulations, especially in the energy sector. As a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Duncan emerged as one of the few voices of reason. In 2014, he introduced the Energy Exploration and Production to Achieve National Demand (EXPAND) Act that streamlined regulatory permitting procedures for energy producers and allowed expansion of domestic energy production from all energy sources.

Beyond energy, in February of 2011, Rep. Duncan introduced a resolution to create a committee to reduce federal outlays by eliminating non-essential programs. More recently, Rep. Duncan signed on to cosponsor National Right-to-Work Act, sponsored by fellow South Carolina Republican Rep. Joe Wilson.

Rep. Duncan has proven over his past five terms that he is an effective champion for the people of South Carolina’s 3rd District. We know that he will continue to fight for liberty and freedom as long as he chooses to serve. It is for these reasons that FreedomWorks is proud to name Rep. Jeff Duncan as our member of the month for September 2019.