He represented District 28 in the state Senate from 1996 to 2014, when he won a special election caused by the resignation of [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] John Thomas Montford. Prior to his state Senate tenure, he represented District 84 in the Texas House from 1992 to 1996. On May 19, 2014, the Texas Tech regents named Duncan the sole finalist to succeed former [[U.S. Representative]] Kent Hance as the system chancellor.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lubbockonline.com/local-news/2014-05-19/duncan-named-sole-finalist-texas-tech-chancellor | title=Duncan named sole finalist for Texas Tech chancellor | publisher=''Lubbock Avalanche-Journal'' |author=Blake Ursch|date=May 19, 2014| accessdate=May 20, 2014}}</ref> | He represented District 28 in the state Senate from 1996 to 2014, when he won a special election caused by the resignation of [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] John Thomas Montford. Prior to his state Senate tenure, he represented District 84 in the Texas House from 1992 to 1996. On May 19, 2014, the Texas Tech regents named Duncan the sole finalist to succeed former [[U.S. Representative]] Kent Hance as the system chancellor.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lubbockonline.com/local-news/2014-05-19/duncan-named-sole-finalist-texas-tech-chancellor | title=Duncan named sole finalist for Texas Tech chancellor | publisher=''Lubbock Avalanche-Journal'' |author=Blake Ursch|date=May 19, 2014| accessdate=May 20, 2014}}</ref> |