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James Baxter Hunt Jr. (born May 16, 1937 in Wilson, NC) was a four-term Democratic governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina (1977–1985, and again from 1993–2001).

Hunt is a graduate of North Carolina State University, with a B.S. in agricultural education and a M.S. in agricultural economics. He also served as Student Body President. In 1964, he received a J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law.

Hunt is the only Governor of North Carolina to have been elected to four terms. He was first elected Governor in 1976 over Republican David Flaherty and was re-elected in 1980, defeating I. Beverly Lake. He previously served a term as Lieutenant Governor (1973–1977) under Republican Governor James Holshouser. Hunt supported a constitutional change during his first term that allowed him to be the first North Carolina governor to run for a second consecutive term.

In 1984 he lost a bitterly contested race for the U.S. Senate seat held by Jesse Helms, and left elective politics for several years. He returned in 1992 and defeated Republican Lt. Governor and Hardees executive Jim Gardner to win the Governorship, and was re-elected by a large margin over future US Congressman Robin Hayes in 1996. He left office in January 2001, and was replaced by fellow Democrat, Attorney General Mike Easley.

Hunt was an early proponent of teaching standards and early childhood education, gaining national recognition for the Smart Start program for pre-kindergardeners. It is widely speculated that Hunt would have been Education Secretary for Al Gore had Gore been successful in the 2000 presidential race. 2004 Democratic nominee Sen. John Kerry was likewise considering Hunt for Secretary of Education had he won.

Hunt served on the Carnegie Task Force, which created the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and more recently on the Spellings Commission on the Future of Higher Education.

While some have criticized Hunt for over-spending during the economic boom of the late 1990s, which contributed to severe budget shortfalls in the early 2000s, he had a long record of energetic leadership in the area of economic development, funding a variety of initiatives that helped transform North Carolina's economy.

Hunt was criticized for allowing Darryl Hunt (no close relation known) to remain in prison for twenty years after the wrongfully convicted Winston-Salem man was exonerated by exculpatory DNA evidence which pointed to another perpetrator. Darryl Hunt was pardoned by the succeeding Governor, Mike Easley.

Governor Hunt chairs the Board of Directors of two institutes which he founded, The James B. Hunt, Jr. Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy at UNC-Chapel Hill, and the Institute for Emerging Issues at N.C. State University in Raleigh. He also serves on the North Carolina Advisory Board of DonorsChoose.

Governor Hunt currently is a member of the law firm of Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice PLLC, in its Raleigh office.

Hunt is Presbyterian and attends First Presbyterian Church of Wilson, NC.^{[citation needed]}

James B. Hunt High School in Wilson County, North Carolina is named for him.

• "Education is our future — it’s everything. We must not settle for anything short of excellence in our schools."

• Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC Biography

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