Name: Hugh Hewitt

Why you’ve heard of him: Hewitt’s radio show is broadcast on 73 radio stations throughout the country. His weblog receives an average of 30,000 hits a day.

Position: Nationally syndicated radio host for Salem Radio Network; Professor of Constitutional Law at Chapman University School of Law

Previous media positions: Co-host of the week-night television news and public affairs show Life & Times on PBS Los Angeles affiliate KCET-TV; Host of the eight-part PBS Series Searching For God In America.

Previous government positions: Served various roles in the Reagan Administration, including Assistant Counsel in the White House and Special Assistant to the Attorney General. In 1996, served as California governor Pete Wilson’s appointee to the South Coast Air Quality Management District. Former council member for the California Arts Council and of the Orange County Children and Families First Commission.

Education: A.B., Harvard (1978); J.D., University of Michigan Law School (1983)

Political leaning: Center-right Republican

Area of expertise/interest: Constitutional law; politics; national security issues; California public policy

Books: First Principles (1987); The Embarrassed Believer (1998); In, But Not Of (2003); If It's Not Close, They Can't Cheat (2004)

Other writings: Columnist for The Weekly Standard and World Net Daily

Distinctions: Received three Emmys (1995, 1997, and 1998) for his work on Life & Times.

Assessment: Hewitt is the one of the most prominent evangelical voice within both mainstream radio and the blogosphere. His book on Christian ambition (In, But Not Of) inspired numerous evangelicals to start blogs of their own and he remains the leading advocate of blogging in the mainstream media.

Though a staunch partisan Republican, Hewitt is cordial to his ideological opponents and gives them equal time and exposure on his radio show. Even his detractors admit that he's not the usual “right-wing radio host.” After his inevitable election to the governorship of California, Hewitt will set a historical precedent as the first evangelical blogger to hold an executive office.

(Full Disclosure: I'm not exactly unbiased in my view of Hugh. His book is the reason I started this blog and what measure of success I’ve gained can be credited to him. He has been an ardent supporter of this blog and has helped me gain an audience that I otherwise never would have reached. I am a huge admirer of his and consider him to be an exemplar of how a Christian should use their influence to aid others.)

(This post is #6 in the "Know Your Evangelicals" series. Coming next: Al Mohler)