A new candidate has entered the race for governor under the Arizona Independent Party’s banner as the party continues to fight lawsuits challenging its name in court.
Hugh Lytle, a Scottsdale businessman, said he’s been both Republican and Democrat in the past and feels he’s the right candidate to bring people from both sides of the aisle together.
“We’ve lost the middle in this country,” Lytle said. “I mean it’s hard to have a common sense and rational voice. All the activities lately that have been going on in America just reinforce: when does the insanity stop?”
Lytle is the CEO and Chairman of Equality Health, a Scottsdale-based health care company.
His platform includes reforming the school voucher system, increasing tax deductions for youth sports, lowering health care costs and using a mixture of public and private dollars to bring more teachers, first responders and other needed services to Arizona.
Lytle made his campaign announcement at Arizona State University, where he was briefly a member of the football team in the 1980s, though he is not listed on the team roster, according to Sports Reference.
“Hugh was at one point a walk-on without any game stats,” an Arizona State University Athletics spokesperson said.
Lytle, who previously played at Hanover College in Indiana, came to Arizona to play quarterback before a broken collarbone derailed his plans, according to a press release. That injury came during the team’s final scrimmage in 1984, according to an Arizona Republic article.
The Arizona Independent Party is currently in court after the Arizona Republican Party, Arizona Democratic Party and Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission sued the Arizona Secretary of State's Office over approving the party's new name.
