The North Carolina gubernatorial election of 1984 was held on November 6, 1984. Popular Democratic incumbent Jim Hunt

Jim Hunt

James Baxter Hunt Jr. is an American politician who was the 69th and 71st Governor of the state of North Carolina . He is the longest-serving governor in the state's history.-Early life:...

 was unable to run for another term and ran instead for the Senate against Jesse Helms

Jesse Helms

Jesse Alexander Helms, Jr. was a five-term Republican United States Senator from North Carolina who served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 1995 to 2001...

 and lost. Popular 9th District Congressman James G. Martin ran as the Republican nominee against Democratic Attorney General Rufus L. Edminsten who defeated Hunt's Lt. Governor James Green

James C. Green

James Collins "Jimmy" Green was a North Carolina politician who served as Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives and as Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina .-Political career:...

.

Martin won by a comfortable margin on election day thanks to the surprise endorsement of Green, and President Reagan's coattails.

Primary election results

General election results