Mike Hunt

Mike Hunt is a sheriff currently serving as the Sheriff of Aiken County, South Carolina. He became the 18th Sheriff of Aiken County in May 2003 during a special election. A year later, he ran unopposed to win his first full term, an accomplishment not seen in Aiken County in more than 40 years.

His law enforcement career spans over two decades. Prior to joining Aiken County Sheriff's Office (ACSO), Sheriff Hunt headed up the Special Services Bureau as a Lieutenant with the Aiken Department of Public Safety where he received The Strom Thurmond Award for Excellence in Law Enforcement in 2001.

Encouraged by his father and others to dedicate his life to serving the community, Mike Hunt began his public safety career as a firefighter in Richmond County, Georgia. He then became a corrections officer at the Aiken County Detention Center, a public safety officer with the North Augusta Department of Public Safety, and in 1985, joined the Aiken Department of Public Safety.

Since taking office, Mike Hunt has greatly restructured the agency. More deputies on the street has resulted in a drastically improved response to citizens' calls for service. Mike Hunt most recently demonstrated his “hands-on” management style during the January 2005 train derailment and chemical spill in Graniteville, South Carolina. Former Governor Mark Sanford recognized the extraordinary leadership and awarded Mike Hunt the state’s highest honor, The Order of the Silver Crescent. In 2006 he was voted South Carolina’s Sheriff of the Year by the members of the South Carolina’s Sheriff’s Association (SCSA) and was elected President of the SCSA in 2016.