Howard J. Hunter III

Howard Jacque Hunter III is a former member of the North Carolina House of Representatives who represented the state's 5th House district (including constituents in Gates, Hertford, and Pasquotank counties) from 2015 to 2023. A Democrat, Hunter was first elected to the legislature in 2014. He was re-elected in 2016, 2018, and 2020, but he lost re-election in 2022.^[1]

Howard J. Hunter III
Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives from the 5th district
In office January 1, 2015 – January 1, 2023
Preceded by	Annie Mobley
Succeeded by	Bill Ward
Personal details
Born	Howard Jacque Hunter III Murfreesboro, North Carolina
Party	Democratic
Spouse	Lori Hunter (M) 2020
Children	5
Residence	Ahoskie, North Carolina
Alma mater	Fayetteville Technical Community College Chowan University
Website	Official website

Hunter is the son of the late Rep. Howard J. Hunter Jr. and is the nephew of former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy.^[2]

Electoral history

2022

North Carolina House of Representatives 5th district general election, 2022^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bill Ward	15,784	53.83%
	Democratic	Howard Hunter III (incumbent)	13,539	46.17%
Total votes			29,323	100%
	Republican gain from Democratic

2020

North Carolina House of Representatives 5th district Democratic primary election, 2020^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Howard Hunter III (incumbent)	6,359	67.48%
	Democratic	Keith Rivers	3,064	32.52%
Total votes			9,423	100%

North Carolina House of Representatives 5th district general election, 2020^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Howard Hunter III (incumbent)	20,061	56.71%
	Republican	Donald Kirkland	15,314	43.29%
Total votes			35,375	100%
	Democratic hold

2018

North Carolina House of Representatives 5th district general election, 2018^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Howard Hunter III (incumbent)	15,206	59.92%
	Republican	Phillip Smith	10,172	40.08%
Total votes			25,378	100%
	Democratic hold

2016

North Carolina House of Representatives 5th district general election, 2016^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Howard Hunter III (incumbent)	25,961	100%
Total votes			25,961	100%
	Democratic hold

2014

North Carolina House of Representatives 5th district Democratic primary election, 2014^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Howard Hunter III	5,248	58.89%
	Democratic	Annie Mobley (incumbent)	3,664	41.11%
Total votes			8,912	100%

North Carolina House of Representatives 5th district general election, 2014^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Howard Hunter III	14,430	68.55%
	Republican	Sidney Pierce III	6,620	31.45%
Total votes			21,050	100%
	Democratic hold

Committee assignments

^[10]

2021-2022 session

• Agriculture
• Transportation
• Health
• Ethics
• Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House Committee
• Finance
• Families, Children, and Aging Policy Committee (Chair)

2019-2020 session

• Appropriations
• Appropriations - Information Technology Committee
• Agriculture (Vice Chair)
• Transportation
• Health
• Ethics
• Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House

2017-2018 session

• Appropriations
• Appropriations - Agriculture and Natural and Economic Resources
• Agriculture
• Elections and Ethics Law
• Transportation
• Education - K-12
• Health
• University Board of Governors Nominations

2015-2016 session

• Appropriations
• Appropriations - Health and Human Services
• Agriculture
• Commerce and Job Development
• Elections
• Judiciary IV
• Transportation