NORTH COUNTY -- Despite having raised a comparatively paltry $1 million and being near the bottom among other candidates in national polls, U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter says he remains upbeat about his quixotic campaign for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination.

Although he has been able to use national television and radio interviews to get his message out without buying expensive airtime, Hunter acknowledges he has a long way to go to achieve national name-recognition and begin drawing in the big donors.

"We just have to keep working," Hunter said last week during a telephone interview from Capitol Hill. "This is a long, tough process because you have millions of people who haven't heard about you."

With his campaign centered on issues that appeal to his party's more conservative end -- strong national and border security and fairer trade practices, particularly with China -- he has yet to score among moderate Republicans who are leaning toward more centrist candidates such as former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Hunter has held his own on the national stage, faring reasonably well with pundits who covered two recent nationally televised Republican debates.

"We've gotten great bumps out of the debates," said the ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee. "What we have to do is continue to work our issues."

Breaking out of the pack has been tough going for a campaign that got a late start. It wasn't until last October that Hunter announced he was running for president and would not seek re-election to the 52nd Congressional District that represents much of east and south San Diego County as well as portions of Ramona and Poway.

Various national polls have Hunter's presidential bid garnering around 1 percent to 3 percent of voters. He fared better in a recent California poll conducted by the firm Datamar Inc., which had him at 11 percent, third to Romney's 32 percent and Giuliani's 15 percent. The statewide poll of 11,207 registered voters was conducted June 6-11.

Later this month, the campaign will report having raised slightly more than $1 million since Hunter announced his candidacy, according to his campaign office. That figure is expected to be about $30 million less than top-tier candidates Giuliani and Romney will report on their Federal Election Commission reports due July 15.

At his most recent fundraiser, a $150-per-plate breakfast in San Diego on June 23, Hunter drew about 350 contributors. That event was followed by a golf tournament he hosted to raise money for his son, Duncan Duane Hunter, a Marine now in Afghanistan who announced in the spring he would run for his father's congressional seat.

The 59-year-old Hunter has been a member of the House of Representatives since 1981 and served as House Armed Services Committee chairman from 2002 until January of this year.

He and GOP rival John McCain are the only two of the announced 18 Republican and Democratic candidates with front-line military experience. The next president is likely to be faced with continuing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Campaign spokesman Roy Tyler said this week that regardless of the polls and relative lack of money, Hunter is not going away.

"We are here for the duration," Tyler said. "Obviously we haven't spent the kind of money that many of the others have, but we've got a chance and no favorite has yet emerged.

"I would say we're doing a great job with what we have to work with."

The campaign continues to point to New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina as key states for Hunter in advance of the multi-state primaries that take place Feb. 5 when voters in as many as 20 states, including California, go to the polls.

A University of Iowa political science professor said Tuesday that while Hunter remains "very much under the radar," those likely to attend the GOP caucuses in January have not settled on a candidate.

"They're still looking for alternatives and what Hunter really needs to do is build a core base of support," professor David Redlawsk said during a telephone interview. "At this point four years ago, (Democrat) John Edwards was drawing 5 percent and he went on to finish second."

Hunter's goal, Redlawsk said, should be to do much better than anyone expects and thereby achieve a momentum heading into the February multi-state primaries.

On Friday, Hunter was in Florida to appear before a gathering of about 1,000 members of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.

Despite his tough stance on border issues -- he sponsored the legislation that would see a wall built along almost the entire U.S.-Mexico border -- Hunter is the only GOP candidate who agreed to appear at the Orlando event. Several of the seven announced Democratic presidential candidates also attended.

Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com. Comment at nctimes.com.