Howard J. Hunter Jr. was a Democratic member of the North Carolina General Assembly representing the state's fifth House district, including constituents in Bertie, Gates, Hertford and Perquimans counties. A funeral director from Ahoskie, North Carolina, Hunter served nine full terms in the state House of Representatives. After being elected to a tenth term in November 2006, Hunter died on January 7, 2007, before the new legislature convened. He was born in Washington, D.C.