Neal Hunt was born in Thomasville, North Carolina on September 17, 1942,[1] but grew up in the Raleigh area graduating from Ravenscroft School in 1960.

[2] Hunt first won election to the 15th district of the North Carolina Senate in 2004 after defeating a five-term incumbent John H. Carrington and newcomer Jean Koch in the Republican primary with 62.36% of the vote.

The general election featured Hunt vs. the Democratic nominee, financial adviser Chris Mintz, and the Libertarian candidate Jan MacKay.

[7] Again having no primary challenger for his seat in 2010, Hunt faced Democratic candidate and state employee Charles Malone, in the general election.

[8] Hunt was only challenged in the general election in 2012 by Sig Hutchinson, a Democratic marketing consultant and environmental activist.