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James Baxter Hunt Jr. (born May 16, 1937) is an American politician and retired attorney who was the 69th and 71st governor of North Carolina (1977–1985, and 1993–2001). He is the longest-serving governor in the state's history.
- Early Life
- Education
- Family
- Professional Career
- Lt. Governor '73-'77
- Governor '77-'81
- Governor '81-'85
- Senate Campaign '84
- Governor '93-'97
- Governor '97-'01
James Baxter Hunt Jr. was born in Greensboro on May 16, 1937, to James Sr. and Elsie Brame Hunt. His father was a soil conservation officer and his mother was a high school English teacher. When Hunt was a child, his family lived in Greensboro, Shelby, and Raleigh. In 1941, the Hunts moved to a tobacco and dairy farm in the Rock Ridge community in ...
Hunt went to college to learn about farming, but he got an education in politics. After high school, he attended N.C. State College (now university) in Raleigh, with the intention of becoming a dairy farmer. In his spare time, he became involved in politics. He was president of the state chapter of the Future Farmers of America in 1957, and he serv...
While in high school, Hunt met Carolyn Joyce Leonard, an Iowa farm girl, at a national Grange Youth Conference in Ohio. He courted her through his first two years in college, often hitchhiking 36 hours to visit her family farm in Iowa. In 1958, the couple married at a church in Mingo, Iowa. They have three daughters, Rebecca, Rachel, and Elizabeth,...
In law school, Hunt worked for the campaign of federal judge Richardson Preyer, who ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. After failing the bar exam, Hunt moved with his wife and daughter to Nepal, where he worked as an economic adviser for the Ford Foundation for two years. In 1966, he passed the bar exam on his second tr...
After rejecting a run for governor, Hunt ended up with more power as the state's No. 2. He was elected lieutenant governor in 1972 with the support of former Gov. Terry Sanford and his former campaign manager, Winston-Salem oil distributor Bert Bennett Jr. With Republican Gov. Jim Holshouser in office, he was the state's highest-ranking Democrat. A...
Hunt kicked off his campaign on April 6, 1976, in Raleigh. He ran with the help of a grassroots organization headed by local leaders he called "keys," that was unmatched in the latter part of the 20th century in North Carolina. In the Democratic primary, he defeated Eckerd Drugs chairman Ed O'Herron, former state Sen. George Wood, and state Sen. Th...
In the 1980 Democratic primary, Hunt defeated former Gov. Bob Scott, a one-time ally who had grown disaffected by some of his conservative stands. In the general election, he faced Republican state Sen. I. Beverly Lake Jr., a former Democrat who had the backing of the National Congressional Club, a conservative organization that pioneered direct-ma...
As he prepared to leave office in 1984, he campaigned for the U.S. Senate against incumbent Sen. Jesse Helms, then in his second term. It was characterized as the second most important race in the country, after President Ronald Reagan's face-off with Walter Mondale. Helms attacked Hunt for supporting legislation to make Martin Luther King Jr.'s bi...
In 1992, he ran for governor again. Unlike his previous campaigns, Hunt ran with the help of coalitions of Democratic-leaning interest groups, including organized labor, teachers, and African-American leaders. He also reached out to executives of Charlotte banks and high-tech companies in the Triangle. In the Democratic primary, he defeated Lacy Th...
In 1996, he was re-elected over Republican state Rep. Robin Hayes, 56 to 43 percent. Libertarian Scott Yost and Natural Law Party candidate Julia Van Witt received around 1 percent of the vote. On the same ballot, voters also approved a constitutional amendment -- promoted by Hunt, Hayes, and four previous governors -- giving the governor the power...
Jim Hunt is the former four-term Democratic governor of North Carolina and a former lieutenant governor. Early life James Baxter Hunt Jr. was born in Greensboro on May 16, 1937, to James Sr. and Elsie Brame Hunt.
In 1976, James Baxter Hunt, Jr. was elected to his first term as governor of North Carolina, making him the fourth NC State alumnus to hold that office. While celebrating his campaign victory at the Raleigh Holiday Inn, Hunt declared, “I remember when I use to catch hell from the editor of the Technician.
Jim Hunt is the former four-term Democratic governor of North Carolina and a former lieutenant governor. Early life James Baxter Hunt Jr. was born in Greensboro on May 16, 1937, to James Sr. and Elsie Brame Hunt.
In the 1940s Jim Hunt’s father, James Baxter Hunt, and mother, Elsie Brame Hunt, helped organize local Grange groups, which were service organizations promoting the economic and social well-being of small agricultural communities.
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James Baxter Hunt Jr. (born May 16, 1937) is an American politician and retired attorney who was the 69th and 71st governor of North Carolina (1977–1985, and 1993–2001). He is the longest-serving governor in the state's history. Quick Facts 69th and 71st Governor of North Carolina, Lieutenant ...
