A third party candidate for governor filed a challenge against her primary opponent on Friday arguing he doesn’t have enough signatures to qualify for the ballot.
Teri Ann Hourihan and Hugh Lytle are both running for governor under the banner of the No Labels Party, which until recently was called the Arizona Independent Party, before a judge ruled the name change made last year was illegal.
Now, Hourihan claims she’s found several invalid signatures on Lytle’s nominating petitions, making him ineligible to make it on the primary ballot.
Lytle has the backing of No Labels Party Chair Paul Johnson, whereas Hourihan is seen as a bit of an upsetter candidate.
“The campaign submitted more than six thousand signatures, more than three times the number required,” Lytle said in an email. “We are extremely confident we will have more than enough valid signatures to be on the ballot and that we will win the July primary which will make the General Election a true three-way contest for Arizona Governor. Our path to victory is clear.”
Hourihan also filed a signature challenge against Green Party candidate Risa Lombardo.
As third party candidates, Lombardo, Lytle and Hourihan only need about 1,800 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot. They’re able to sidestep the higher signature requirements for unaffiliated candidates, who need about 45,000 signatures.
Hourihan claims that Lytle is 552 signatures short and Lombardo is 788 short.
That means, Hourihan is arguing 4,748 of Lytle’s signatures — and 2,267 of Lombardo’s — are invalid.
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Find everything you need to know about elections in Arizona and Maricopa County from KJZZ's politics team. -
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