| State: | North Carolina |
| District Number: | 3 |
| Image Caption: | Interactive map of district boundaries |
| Representative: | Greg Murphy |
| Party: | Republican |
| Residence: | Greenville |
| Population: | 756,848 |
| Population Year: | 2022 |
| Median Income: | $61,546[1] |
| Percent White: | 64.4 |
| Percent Hispanic: | 11.2 |
| Percent Black: | 17.6 |
| Percent Asian: | 1.5 |
| Percent More Than One Race: | 4.4 |
| Percent Other Race: | 1.0 |
| Cpvi: | R+15[2] |
North Carolina's 3rd congressional district is located on the Atlantic coast of North Carolina. It covers the Outer Banks and the counties adjacent to the Pamlico Sound.
The district is currently represented by Greg Murphy following a special election after the seat was left vacant following the passing of Walter B. Jones Jr. in February 2019.[3] Jones had been the district's representative from 1995 until his death. In 2008, he defeated Democrat Craig Weber for reelection, and was challenged in 2010 by former chair of the Pitt County Democratic Party Johnny Rouse, whom he defeated by a vote of 72% to 26% (141,978 votes to 50,600). In 2012, he was challenged by Frank Palombo, the former New Bern Police Chief, for the Republican Party nomination.[4] The winner of the Republican primary then faced Marine Corps Veteran Erik Anderson in the general election.[5]
A special election to fill the vacancy caused by Jones's death was held on September 10, 2019. State representative Greg Murphy won the election.[6]
On February 23, 2022, the North Carolina Supreme Court approved a new map which changed the 3rd district boundaries to include Duplin and Sampson counties and part of Wayne County while removing Chowan, Greene, Pasquotank, Perquimans and Tyrrell counties[7]
Counties in the 2023–2025 district map:
| Member | Party | Years | Cong ress | Electoral history | District location | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District established April 6, 1790 | ||||||||
| align=left | Timothy Bloodworth | Anti-Administration | nowrap | April 6, 1790 – March 3, 1791 | Elected in 1790. Redistricted to the and lost re-election. | 1790–1971 "Cape Fear division" | ||
| align=left | John B. Ashe | Anti-Administration | nowrap | March 4, 1791 – March 3, 1793 | Redistricted from the and re-elected in 1791. Redistricted to the . | 1791–1973 | ||
| align=left | Joseph Winston | Anti-Administration | nowrap | March 4, 1793 – March 3, 1795 | Elected in 1793. Lost re-election. | 1793–1803 | ||
| align=left | Jesse Franklin | Democratic-Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1795 – March 3, 1797 | Elected in 1795. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | Robert Williams | Democratic-Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1797 – March 3, 1803 | Elected in 1796. Re-elected in 1798. Re-elected in 1800. Redistricted to the and retired to run for governor of North Carolina. | |||
| align=left | William Kennedy | Democratic-Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1803 – March 3, 1805 | Elected in 1803. Lost re-election. | 1803–1813 Web site: North Carolina congressional district map (1803–13). [8] | ||
| align=left | Thomas Blount | Democratic-Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1805 – March 3, 1809 | Elected in 1804. Re-elected in 1806. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | William Kennedy | Democratic-Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1809 – March 3, 1811 | Elected in 1808. Retired. | |||
| align=left | Thomas Blount | Democratic-Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1811 – February 7, 1812 | Elected in 1810. Died. | |||
| Vacant | nowrap | February 7, 1812 – January 30, 1813 | ||||||
| William Kennedy | Democratic-Republican | January 30, 1813 – March 3, 1815 | Elected January 11, 1813, to finish Blount's term and seated January 30, 1813. Re-elected in 1813. Retired. | |||||
| 1813–1823 Web site: North Carolina congressional district map (1813–43). | ||||||||
| align=left | James W. Clark | Democratic-Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1815 – March 3, 1817 | Elected in 1815. Retired. | |||
| Thomas H. Hall | Democratic-Republican | March 4, 1817 – March 3, 1825 | Elected in 1817. Re-elected in 1819. Re-elected in 1821. Re-elected in 1823. Lost re-election. | |||||
| Democratic-Republican | 1823–1833 Web site: North Carolina congressional district map (1813–43). | |||||||
| align=left | Richard Hines | Jacksonian | nowrap | March 4, 1825 – March 3, 1827 | Elected in 1825. Lost re-election. | |||
| Thomas H. Hall | Jacksonian | March 4, 1827 – March 3, 1835 | Elected in 1827. Re-elected in 1829. Re-elected in 1831. Re-elected in 1833. | |||||
| 1833–1843 Web site: North Carolina congressional district map (1813–43). | ||||||||
| align=left | Ebenezer Pettigrew | Anti-Jacksonian | nowrap | March 4, 1835 – March 3, 1837 | Elected in 1835. | |||
| align=left | Edward Stanly | Whig | nowrap | March 4, 1837 – March 3, 1843 | Elected in 1837. Re-elected in 1839. Re-elected in 1841. | |||
| align=left | David S. Reid | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1847 | Elected in 1843. Re-elected in 1845. | 1843–1853 | ||
| align=left | Daniel M. Barringer | Whig | nowrap | March 4, 1847 – March 3, 1849 | Redistricted from the and re-elected in 1847. | |||
| align=left | Edmund Deberry | Whig | nowrap | March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1851 | Elected in 1849. | |||
| align=left | Alfred Dockery | Whig | nowrap | March 4, 1851 – March 3, 1853 | Elected in 1851. | |||
| align=left | William S. Ashe | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1855 | Redistricted from the and re-elected in 1853. | 1853–1861 | ||
| align=left | Warren Winslow | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1861 | Elected in 1855. Re-elected in 1857. Re-elected in 1859. | |||
| Vacant | nowrap | March 3, 1861 – July 13, 1868 | Civil War and Reconstruction | |||||
| align=left | Oliver H. Dockery | Republican | nowrap | July 13, 1868 – March 3, 1871 | Elected to finish the short term. Re-elected in 1868. | 1868–1873 | ||
Alfred M. Waddell | Democratic | March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1879 | Elected in 1870. Re-elected in 1872. Re-elected in 1874. Re-elected in 1876. | |||||
| 1873–1883 | ||||||||
| align=left | Daniel L. Russell | Greenback | nowrap | March 4, 1879 – March 3, 1881 | Elected in 1878. | |||
| align=left | John W. Shackelford | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1881 – January 18, 1883 | Elected in 1880. Died. | |||
| Vacant | nowrap | January 18, 1883 – March 3, 1883 | ||||||
| align=left | Wharton J. Green | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1887 | Elected in 1882. Re-elected in 1884. | 1883–1893 | ||
| align=left | Charles W. McClammy | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1887 – March 3, 1891 | Elected in 1886. Re-elected in 1888. | |||
Benjamin F. Grady | Democratic | March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1895 | Elected in 1890. Re-elected in 1892. | |||||
| 1893–1903 | ||||||||
| align=left | John G. Shaw | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1897 | Elected in 1894. | |||
| align=left | John E. Fowler | Populist | nowrap | March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1899 | Elected in 1896. | |||
Charles R. Thomas | Democratic | March 4, 1899 – March 3, 1911 | Elected in 1898. Re-elected in 1900. Re-elected in 1902. Re-elected in 1904. Re-elected in 1906. Re-elected in 1908. | |||||
| 1903–1913 | ||||||||
John M. Faison | Democratic | March 4, 1911 – March 3, 1915 | Elected in 1910. Re-elected in 1912. | |||||
| 1913–1933 | ||||||||
| align=left | George E. Hood | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1915 – March 3, 1919 | Elected in 1914. Re-elected in 1916. | |||
| align=left | Samuel M. Brinson | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1919 – April 13, 1922 | Elected in 1918. Re-elected in 1920. Died. | |||
| Vacant | nowrap | April 13, 1922 – November 7, 1922 | ||||||
Charles L. Abernethy | Democratic | November 7, 1922 – January 3, 1935 | Elected to finish Brinson's term. Re-elected in 1922. Re-elected in 1924. Re-elected in 1926. Re-elected in 1928. Re-elected in 1930. Re-elected in 1932. Lost renomination. | |||||
| 1933–1943 | ||||||||
Graham A. Barden | Democratic | January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1961 | Elected in 1934. Re-elected in 1936. Re-elected in 1938. Re-elected in 1940. Re-elected in 1942. Re-elected in 1944. Re-elected in 1946. Re-elected in 1948. Re-elected in 1950. Re-elected in 1952. Re-elected in 1954. Re-elected in 1956. Re-elected in 1958. Retired. | |||||
| 1943–1953 | ||||||||
| 1953–1963 | ||||||||
David N. Henderson | Democratic | January 3, 1961 – January 3, 1977 | Elected in 1960. Re-elected in 1962. Re-elected in 1964. Re-elected in 1966. Re-elected in 1968. Re-elected in 1970. Re-elected in 1972. Re-elected in 1974. Retired. | |||||
| 1963–1973 | ||||||||
| 1973–1983 | ||||||||
Charles O. Whitley | Democratic | January 3, 1977 – December 31, 1986 | Elected in 1976. Re-elected in 1978. Re-elected in 1980. Re-elected in 1982. Re-elected in 1984. Resigned. | |||||
| 1983–1993 | ||||||||
| Vacant | nowrap | December 31, 1986 – January 3, 1987 | ||||||
Martin Lancaster | Democratic | January 3, 1987 – January 3, 1995 | Elected in 1986. Re-elected in 1988. Re-elected in 1990. Re-elected in 1992. Lost re-election. | |||||
| 1993–2003 | ||||||||
Walter B. Jones Jr. | Republican | January 3, 1995 – February 10, 2019 | Elected in 1994. Re-elected in 1996. Re-elected in 1998. Re-elected in 2000. Re-elected in 2002. Re-elected in 2004. Re-elected in 2006. Re-elected in 2008. Re-elected in 2010. Re-elected in 2012. Re-elected in 2014. Re-elected in 2016. Re-elected in 2018. Died. | |||||
| 2003–2013 | ||||||||
| 2013–2017 | ||||||||
| 2017–2021 | ||||||||
| Vacant | nowrap | February 10, 2019 – September 10, 2019 | ||||||
Greg Murphy | Republican | September 10, 2019 – present | Elected to finish Jones's term. Re-elected in 2020. Re-elected in 2022. | |||||
| 2021–2023 | ||||||||
| 2023–2025 | ||||||||
| 2025–present --> | ||||||||