Louis M. Pate Jr.

Louis Milford Pate Jr. (September 22, 1936 – August 29, 2025) was an American politician who served as a Republican member of the North Carolina General Assembly. He represented the state's eleventh House district from 1995 through 1996 and from 2003 through 2009. His district included constituents in Wayne County. Pate later was elected as the State Senator representing the 7th district (including constituents in Lenoir, Pitt, and Wayne counties). He resigned from the Senate on January 14, 2019, citing his health.

Pate was a mayor, city council member and retired merchant from Mount Olive, North Carolina. He served as Mount Olive's mayor from 1991 to 1994 and again from 1999 until 2002.

Pate was a delegate at the 2008 Republican National Convention in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The same year, he ran for the North Carolina Senate but was defeated in the general election by Don Davis. He then defeated Davis in a rematch in 2010, and, following redistricting, was elected to represent the new 7th district in 2012. Pate ran unopposed in 2016.

Pate served 20 years in the Air Force and retired as a Major in 1982. In Vietnam, Pate navigated B-57 bombers. Later in his career, he navigated F-111s.

Pate died in Mount Olive, North Carolina, on August 29, 2025, at the age of 88.