Senator Jack S. Hill: 30 Years of Life in Georgia Politics presented by Kim Liebl: Political Transitions (2002-2020)

One of Senator Hill’s closest friends while in office was Sonny Perdue. In 1990, both Hill and Perdue were elected to the state Senate and shared an office space and apartment when the General Assembly was in session. Perdue, a Democrat, began discussing switching parties in 1998 after members of the National Democratic Party told him to change his stance on certain social issues, including abortion. Before announcing his switch, Perdue tried to convince other Democratic Senators with more conservative views to switch parties. He reasoned that the Republican Party would become the majority and the Senators who switched parties would keep their power and influence in the Senate.

Senator Hill was among the many senators Perdue tried to convince to switch. They had a close relationship and disagreed with the direction the National Democratic Party was taking. Six Senators, Don Cheeks of Augusta, Eddie Madden of Elberton, and Tim Golden of Valdosta, were asked and agreed to switch. But the switch to the Republican Party was delayed when Perdue’s father became ill. So, in 1998, Sonny Perdue was the only Democratic Senator to switch to the Republican Party.

In 2002, Sonny Perdue became the first Republican Governor of Georgia since Reconstruction. The Governor-elect again approached Senator Hill to persuade him to switch parties and create a historic Republican majority in the Senate. Jack Hill, Don Cheeks, Dan Lee, and Rooney Bowen switched parties and created a Republican majority.

Georgia became a Republican state in 2004 when the State House of Representatives achieved a Republican majority.
The announcement of the switch came as a shock to many as it took place just days after the election. The National Democratic Party was upset by the switch and called for Senators Bowen and Hill to pay back the money they donated to their campaigns and called for a special election.