Kemp sets June 9 election to replace longtime Senate budget chairman

Gov. Brian Kemp on Saturday set a special election for June 9 to replace longtime Senate Appropriations Chairman Jack Hill, a Reidsville Republican who died earlier this week.

Kemp set the special election on the same day Georgia voters will be going to the polls to pick Republican and Democratic nominees for a host of offices, including president, U.S. senator and state legislative posts.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Thursday announced the primary elections would be moved from May 19 to June 9 because of the coronavirus, citing health concerns for voters and poll workers.

Hill, who for more than a decade shepherded Georgia's budget through the Senate, died Monday at his office He was 75.

Hill was sworn into the Georgia Senate in 1991 as a Democrat. A retired grocer, Hill switched parties after the 2002 election, helping throw the Senate to the Republicans. He was rewarded by being named chairman of the Senate budget committee.

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