FOX6 San Diego - New San Diego Congressional Candidate

The founder of the nonprofit San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum has joined the race for Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham's 50th Congressional District seat.

Alan Uke of Del Mar, a 52-year-old Republican, is the president and founder of Underwater Kinetics, a company that makes underwater lights.

He said it was too early to make a formal announcement, but his Federal Election Commission filings show he has spent $16,000 of $25,000 of his campaign money on a a poll.

Uke will be seeking to replace the embattled Cunningham, who has represented the area for seven terms.

Cunningham announced in July he would step down amid federal investigations into his financial dealings with defense contractors.

"When I saw Duke wasn't running again I thought, `What the heck,"' Uke said.

While a host of politicians expressed interest, only four have told the FEC they are raising funds to run. Their campaign statements were due last weekend.