Figures are Ballotpedia's, which compiles the Georgia Secretary of State's certified results. Election-night numbers reported by local outlets were sometimes lower because counting was still going on.
2008: State Senate, District 6
Hill's first campaign was against Doug Stoner, the Democrat who had held District 6 since 2005. The district at the time was centered on Cobb County.
Republican primary, July 15, 2008
| Candidate | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Hunter Hill | 3,003 | 74.9% |
| William D. Adams | 1,004 | 25.1% |
General election, November 4, 2008
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doug Stoner (incumbent) | Democratic | 37,473 | 60.6% |
| Hunter Hill | Republican | 24,381 | 39.4% |
Shares for 2008 are calculated from Ballotpedia's vote totals.
2012: State Senate, District 6
The 2011 redistricting moved District 6 to take in Buckhead and Sandy Springs as well as Smyrna and Vinings, and Patch reported that the new lines leaned Republican. Three Republicans sought the nomination. Rough Draft Atlanta reported in April 2012 that Hill was emphasizing the economy, limited government and low taxes.
Republican primary, July 31, 2012
| Candidate | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Hunter Hill | 8,987 | 52.6% |
| Josh Belinfante | 4,909 | 28.7% |
| Drew Ellenburg | 3,201 | 18.7% |
General election, November 6, 2012
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hunter Hill | Republican | 37,628 | 52.8% |
| Doug Stoner (incumbent) | Democratic | 33,607 | 47.2% |
Patch's breakdown of the unofficial count showed Stoner carrying the Cobb County part of the district and Hill winning the Fulton County part by a wide margin.
2014: State Senate, District 6
Hill was unopposed in the Republican primary.
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hunter Hill (incumbent) | Republican | 29,383 | 60.9% |
| Antron Johnson | Democratic | 18,904 | 39.1% |
2016: State Senate, District 6
Again unopposed in the primary, Hill faced Democrat Jaha Howard in November.
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hunter Hill (incumbent) | Republican | 42,338 | 51.9% |
| Jaha Howard | Democratic | 39,201 | 48.1% |
2018: Governor, Republican primary
Hill announced his campaign in late April 2017, with Gov. Nathan Deal term-limited. Early on he did well with party activists: he won the Cobb County GOP's July 2017 straw poll with 40 percent. Ballotpedia's table of pre-primary polls puts his average at about 9 percent, with a high of 17 percent in a March 2018 poll paid for by his own campaign.
Republican primary, May 22, 2018
| Candidate | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Casey Cagle | 236,987 | 39.0% |
| Brian Kemp | 155,189 | 25.5% |
| Hunter Hill | 111,464 | 18.3% |
| Clay Tippins | 74,182 | 12.2% |
| Michael Williams | 29,619 | 4.9% |
No candidate passed 50 percent, so Cagle and Kemp went to a runoff. The AJC reported that Hill finished second in Cobb and Fulton counties, ahead of Kemp there, and narrowly carried Glynn County.
After the primary
Two days after the primary, fourth-place finisher Clay Tippins secretly recorded a conversation with Cagle. In the recording, made public in June, Cagle described a school-scholarship tax-credit bill he had backed as "bad public policy" and said he supported it to keep an outside group from spending heavily to help Hill. Cagle responded that the bill "wasn't perfect" and that he had answered Tippins honestly.
Hill announced his endorsement of Kemp the week before the July 24 runoff. WABE reported that Hill praised Kemp's integrity and noted his long-strained relationship with Cagle.
Republican runoff, July 24, 2018: Brian Kemp 69.5% (406,703), Casey Cagle 30.5% (178,893). Kemp then won the November 2018 general election against Democrat Stacey Abrams with 50.2 percent.
Campaign finance in brief
Ballotpedia's summary of state filings shows Hill's Senate campaigns raising about $165,000 in 2008, $602,000 in 2012, $573,000 in 2014 and $329,000 in 2016. His governor's campaign reported $2.70 million in contributions through March 31, 2018.
Common questions
Has Hunter Hill ever lost an election?
Yes, twice: the 2008 general election for state Senate District 6, which he lost to Democrat Doug Stoner, and the 2018 Republican primary for governor, where he finished third.
Who won the 2018 Republican primary for Georgia governor?
No one won outright. Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle led with 39.0 percent and Secretary of State Brian Kemp was second with 25.5 percent. Kemp won the July 24 runoff with 69.5 percent and then the November general election.
Did Hunter Hill run for anything after 2018?
Not that we could find. He held an appointed post, executive director of the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority, from 2022 to 2025, and he did not appear among candidates qualifying for Georgia's 2026 elections. Checked November 8, 2026.
Sources
- Ballotpedia: Hunter Hill (election results 2012-2018)
- Ballotpedia: Georgia State Senate elections, 2008
- Ballotpedia: Georgia gubernatorial election, 2018 (May 22 Republican primary)
- Patch (Smyrna-Vinings): Hunter Hill wins Ga. District 6 Senate race (Nov. 2012)
- Rough Draft Atlanta: Republican hopefuls battle for state Senate seat (Apr. 19, 2012)
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Political Insider: Hunter Hill to endorse Brian Kemp (July 15, 2018)
- WABE: Former candidate Hunter Hill endorses Brian Kemp in Ga. governor's race (July 2018)
- Washington Times (AP): Secret recording stuns GOP front-runner for Georgia governor (June 8, 2018)
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Political Insider: Hunter Hill carries Cobb GOP straw poll (July 5, 2017)
- Washington Times (AP): GOP state senator Hill announces run for Georgia governor (Apr. 25, 2017)