Hottinger attended Newark High School and has a degree in political science and public administration from Capital University.

[2][3] His professional experience includes working as an office manager for Jay Company and an electrical contractor.

With the seat up for re-election in 1998, Hottinger faced former Senator Eugene Branstool, who had been defeated by Dix a few years prior.

Soon after, Hottinger was also mentioned as a potential running mate to gubernatorial candidate Ken Blackwell, who chose Rep. Tom Raga instead, however.

Unopposed in the primary, he faced Democrat Thomas Holliday in the general election, and won with 61.83% of the vote.

[3][9] On April 23, 2016, Laura Bischoff of The Dayton Daily News reported that Hottinger posted a racist joke on Instagram, which he later retracted.

Initially, Hottinger told an interviewer that there was nothing problematic about the joke, but he later recanted, stating, "It was inappropriate of me to put it up so I took it down and apologized.