Hunter Hill's stated positions, by topic

Positions are given in Hill's words or close paraphrase, with the date he stated them. Inclusion here is not agreement or disagreement. If you think something is missing or out of context, please use the corrections page.

Taxes and spending

Eliminate the state income tax (2017 to 2018). This was the centerpiece of his governor's campaign. The AJC reported in May 2018 that he proposed phasing the tax out over seven years, replacing much of the roughly $10 billion it raised each year with a broader sales tax, and cutting the budget while keeping education, public safety and transportation as priorities. At a campaign stop in Ellijay that month, FetchYourNews reported, he described his approach as "less government, less taxes, and more freedom."

Reported criticism: Rivals called the plan unrealistic, and Gov. Nathan Deal warned that deep income-tax cuts could hurt the state's finances (AJC). The AJC also pointed out that Hill had voted for record budgets as a senator.

Transportation

Double transportation investment without raising taxes (2018). The proposal appeared on his campaign website, as summarized by Ballotpedia, and in his stump speeches; in Columbus he told WTVM the state should invest more in transportation by cutting waste elsewhere. OnTheIssues lists a 2017 statement backing driverless-car corridors and double-decking Interstate 285.

Record: He voted against the 2015 transportation funding package of fees and taxes (AJC).

Guns

Age to buy firearms (February 2018). After the Parkland, Florida, school shooting, Hill said at a forum that the minimum age to buy certain semiautomatic rifles should match the pistol age of 21. He then said he had misspoken and supported 18 as the minimum for all firearms (AJC; 11Alive).

NRA rating (April 2018). He publicized an "A" rating from the NRA, after earlier "C" ratings as a senator (AJC; Wikipedia).

Reported criticism: GeorgiaCarry.org issued what the AJC called a rare anti-endorsement in May 2018, citing the age comments and his handling of a 2014 church-carry bill. Hill's campaign said he had voted for every pro-Second Amendment bill in his Senate career.

Religious liberty

Pass a state Religious Freedom Restoration Act (2016 to 2018). He voted for HB 757 in 2016, which Gov. Deal vetoed. In April 2017 the Marietta Daily Journal quoted him saying he would sign a bill "that looks like the religious liberty bill at the federal level" (via OnTheIssues). In an April 11, 2018 AJC op-ed he argued that a state law modeled on the 1993 federal act would not hurt Georgia's chances with Amazon, which was then choosing a site for a second headquarters. More in the archive entry on that op-ed.

Reported context: Gov. Deal's 2016 veto followed objections from business leaders and gay-rights groups (OnTheIssues), and the AJC listed Hill's vote for the bill among those that drew criticism.

Education

• Funding should follow the student (April 2017). Quoted by the MDJ: "I believe the money should follow the child" (via OnTheIssues).
• Education savings accounts. WABE reported in April 2017 that he strongly supported state-funded accounts usable at private schools, a position teacher groups opposed (via OnTheIssues).
• Opportunity School District. He voted for SB 133 in 2015 (Vote Smart).
• Common Core. His 2018 campaign website opposed it, according to Ballotpedia's summary.

Immigration

Opposed "sanctuary cities" (2017 to 2018). He said cities or counties claiming that status should lose state funding (FetchYourNews, May 2018; Ballotpedia summary of his website).

Health care

State-designed plans (September 2017). His campaign website called for free-market reforms and policies that would "allow each state to craft its own plan" in place of the Affordable Care Act (via OnTheIssues).

Confederate monuments

August 2017. He told WABE that "erasing hatred from our country is far more complicated than simply removing monuments in our communities" (via OnTheIssues).

Government and "career politicians"

His 2018 campaign was built around criticism of "career politicians," and his first TV ad cast his two leading rivals as lookalikes stuck in a "swamp" (archive entry). He resigned his own Senate seat to run and criticized rivals who did not.

Campaign website controversy

In April 2018 CNN's KFile reported that passages on Hill's campaign website closely matched language on the website of Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens. The Hill campaign said the similarities were coincidental (as summarized by Wikipedia).