Howard Jacque Hunter III is a member of the North Carolina General Assembly representing the state's 5th House district (including constituents in Gates, Hertford, and Pasquotank counties). A Democrat, Hunter was first elected to the legislature in 2014. He was re-elected in 2016, 2018, and 2020. 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.