Jim Hunt, Four-Term North Carolina Governor and Champion of Public Education, Dies at 88

RALEIGH, N.C. — Jim Hunt, the four-term Democratic governor who became a defining figure in North Carolina politics and a national leader on public education reform, died Thursday at the age of 88, his daughter, Lt. Gov. Rachel Hunt, announced. According to her office, he died peacefully at his home in Wilson County.

Hunt’s 16 years in the governor’s office — the longest in state history — helped reshape North Carolina’s economy as it transitioned from textiles and tobacco toward a high-tech future. He left a legacy as a pragmatic, business-minded progressive who made education the central plank of his public service.

Legacy in Education

Hunt is widely credited with creating the template for the modern "education governor." As lieutenant governor in the 1970s, he worked across party lines with Republican Gov. Jim Holshouser to make North Carolina the first state to implement full-day kindergarten. In the 1980s he helped establish the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and pushed for national comparisons of student performance through standardized testing.

Returning to the governor’s office in the 1990s, Hunt championed Smart Start, an innovative early-childhood initiative that became a national model, and fought for higher teacher pay. After leaving office, The Hunt Institute continued his work by training new leaders on education policy and promoting evidence-based reforms.

Political Career and Influence

James Baxter Hunt Jr., born May 16, 1937, in Greensboro, grew up on his family’s tobacco-and-dairy farm in Wilson County. After law school, he and his wife Carolyn lived in Nepal for two years while working with the Ford Foundation. He rose quickly through Democratic politics, serving as president of North Carolina’s Young Democrats in 1968 and winning election as lieutenant governor in 1972.

Hunt was first elected governor in 1976 and — after a constitutional change — became the first North Carolina governor permitted to serve successive four-year terms. He left the governor’s office after two terms to run for the U.S. Senate in 1984, losing a high-profile race to Republican Jesse Helms. Hunt returned to statewide office in 1992 and won reelection in 1996, ultimately serving a record 16 years as governor.

Even after leaving office in 2001, Hunt remained an active voice in Democratic politics, mentoring leaders such as former Gov. Roy Cooper and the late U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan. He campaigned for Barack Obama in 2012 and supported Hillary Clinton and Roy Cooper in 2016. Current Gov. Josh Stein praised Hunt Thursday, saying, “I can think of no one who shaped North Carolina’s recent successes as much as Governor Jim Hunt,” while Cooper called him “the greatest Governor in North Carolina history.”

Controversies and Notable Actions

Early in his first term, Hunt commuted the sentences of nine Black men and one white woman convicted in the 1971 Wilmington grocery-store firebombing — a case that drew national attention amid broader unrest and questions about witness testimony. Full pardons for the so-called "Wilmington 10" did not arrive until 2012.

Known for tireless advocacy, Hunt frequently lobbied lawmakers directly — sometimes making late-night calls and mobilizing constituents to press officials when he believed an initiative was crucial for the public good. Longtime staffer and biographer Gary Pearce said Hunt “had a way of pushing you to do things you never thought you could do” and that he motivated people by making them feel they were “genuinely making the world a better place.”

Personal Notes and Memorial Plans

Jim Hunt was present at the Legislative Building in early 2025 when his daughter Rachel took the gavel as Senate president, following in her father’s footsteps more than five decades after he first held similar office. Rachel Hunt served in the legislature before being elected lieutenant governor in 2024.

Memorial details will be announced by the family at a later date.