Hawthorn has usually been a safe seat for the Liberal Party and its predecessors, having been held by a number of leaders and senior ministers.

In the 1960s, the seat of Hawthorn included parts of working class Richmond, making it less secure for the Liberals than in recent decades.

With the exception of two occasions when Liberal MPs defected and sat as independents, it has only been held by non-Liberal MPs three times in its history: independent Leslie Hollins from 1940 to 1945, Labor-turned-Labor (Anti-Communist) MP Charles Murphy from 1952 to 1955, and Labor MP John Kennedy in 2018.

[3] Pesutto re-contested Hawthorn at the 2022 state election, defeating Kennedy and teal independent candidate Melissa Lowe.

[5] Notable former members for Hawthorn include former premiers Sir William McPherson and Ted Baillieu, as well as Walter Jona, a minister in the Hamer government.