Hunter Hill

Hunter Hill (born June 23, 1977) is an American Republican Party politician and small business owner. He has represented District 6 of the Georgia State Senate, located in Smyrna, since he was first sworn into office on January 14, 2013, succeeding his predecessor, Democrat Doug Stoner. He is also the Vice Chair of the Georgia Senate's Majority Caucus, the chair of the Senate Veterans, Military and Homeland Security Committee, and the vice chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.

On April 24, 2017, Hill announced his candidacy for Governor in 2018.

Hill received a B.S. degree from the United States Military Academy. In addition to being a state senator, he is also the president of Tommy Newberry Coaching, a coaching company for business executives. He is married and has two children.

Political career

Hill first ran to represent the 6th District unsuccessfully in 2008, and ran again in 2012, this time successfully. In 2012, Hill received about 52% of the vote to incumbent Stoner's 48%. In 2014, he was elected vice chairman of the Georgia State Senate's Majority Caucus by his colleagues. In December 2016, he was re-elected to the State Senate, defeating Democrat Jaha Howard by about 3%.

In March 2015, Hill voted in support of a bill that created the Opportunity School District, a system intended to help struggling schools. In October 2016, Hill said that no schools in his district are in danger of falling into the district, adding that the district "...provides an opportunity for schools that have been failing for three consecutive years to have different leadership, to change the trajectory of those schools that have proven to continue to fail." In May 2015, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signed into law a bill sponsored by Hill. The bill allows craft breweries in the state to charge people for a tour and to give a limited amount of beer to their customers as a free souvenir. Also that month, another bill Hill sponsored, which would have overhauled the state's teacher pension system, failed to pass the legislature after opposition from teacher and retiree groups. Hill later failed to get approval for the actuarial study necessary for it to be reintroduced in the next session. In February 2016, Hill introduced Senate Bill 395, which would create a private school subsidy program for the non-disabled children of military personnel in Georgia. Soon afterward, the bill became locked in a committee.