A native Californian, Hurtt was born in Santa Monica, he has resided in Orange County since graduating from Claremont McKenna College in 1966 with a Bachelor of Arts in economics.

Under Hurtt's presidency, Container Supply Company donated $278,070 to the 2008 campaign to ban same-sex marriage in California.

[1] Hurtt was elected to the Senate in a 1993 special election with 76% of the vote to represent the 32nd District after Senator Ed Royce vacated the seat to become a member of Congress.

During the 1990s, the 34th district consisted of portions of Anaheim, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, La Palma, Santa Ana, Buena Park, Midway City, Stanton, and Westminster.

Elected to a full term in 1994, his priorities in the Senate were "reducing job-killing business regulation, eliminating wasteful government spending, expanding commitment to public safety, improving education, and reforming tax policies."