Observer and wire reports
Melody Duncan, wife of U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan, who represents the South Carolina third district, which includes Anderson County, has filed for divorce according to court records.
The filing states “(Duncan) has admitted to (Melody) that he has an ongoing sexual relationship,” with Washington lobbyist, Liz Williams. Duncan is now believed to be living with Williams. Williams is a former Federal Lobbyist at National Rifle Association.
Melody Duncan, who has been married to the congressman for 30 years, claimed that after the August 28 “Faith and Freedom BBQ” fundraiser in Anderson, where Jeff Duncan expressed from stage his loving marriage to his wife, he left “for the home of his paramour, Liz Williams… where (Melody) is informed and believes he continues to reside.”
Her divorce proceedings seek alimony payments, and exclusive possession and use of their marital home and their home in Montana, plus requiring Duncan be solely responsible for any of their debts, medical expenses, attorney and legal fees, and maintenance of hers and their children’s health insurance. She also asked the court for an order restraining the congressman “from contacting, bothering, harassing, or in any way interfering with (her) in person, by phone, internet/ email, text messages, mail or through third parties.”
The congressman is a resident of Laurens County and he and Melody have three adult sons: Graham, John Philip (JP), and Parker, as well as one grandson, John Waylon (JW). Jeff and Melody are members of First Baptist Church of Clinton, South Carolina.
Duncan is a member of the Freedom Caucus, a group generally considered to be the most conservative and farthest-right bloc within the House Republican Conference. In the House chamber, Duncan voted with a mask reading “Let’s Go Brandon”, a popular coded message in Republican circles for an obscene insult to Joe Biden.
Duncan, who has positioned himself as ‘”a strong advocate for life and traditional family values,” is anti-abortion, including exceptions for rape, incest, or saving the life of the mother. A lifelong member of the National Rifle Association, he has built a career on gun rights, seeing Americans’ right to own firearms given by God. In 2015, Duncan cosponsored a Congressional resolution to amend the Constitution to ban same-sex marriage. He also supported the full repeal of the Affordable Care Act.
Duncan ran for South Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District when Republican incumbent U.S. representative J. Gresham Barrett ran for governor of South Carolina. He was an early Tea Party favorite and was endorsed by the Club for Growth and the National Right to Life Committee. In the Republican primary, businessman Richard Cash ranked first with 25 percent but failed to reach the 50 percent threshold to win outright. Duncan ranked second in the six-candidate field with 23 percent. In the runoff election, Duncan defeated Cash 51–49 percent, a vote difference of 2,171. He won five of the district’s ten counties, mostly in the southern part of the district. He won the general election with 62 pecent of the vote, two percent less than John McCain’s 64 percent vote in 2008.
Duncan’s office did not respond to Observer requests for comment.