The Arizona Independent Party’s gubernatorial primary has drawn increased attention after party chair Paul Johnson publicly endorsed healthcare executive Hugh Lytle while also urging fellow candidate Teri Hourihan to withdraw from the race.
The Arizona Capitol Times reported this week that party chair Paul Johnson spoke at a campaign event launching Lytle’s campaign and has endorsed the healthcare executive while also asking fellow candidate Teri Hourihan to step aside to provide a clear path for Lytle’s nomination. He reportedly questioned whether Hourihan was prepared for a statewide bid and encouraged her to seek a lower office instead.
Hourihan, who says Johnson approached her about withdrawing on behalf of party leadership, has stated that she believes party officials should remain neutral during the nomination process and allow candidates to compete without institutional influence. She has also said she intends to remain in the race and continue seeking the party’s nomination.
The Arizona Independent Party, which has since partnered with the Forward Party, was originally the state affiliate of No Labels. After the national organization ceased its efforts to field a 2024 presidential ticket, the Arizona affiliate, which had ballot access, attempted to nominate down-ballot candidates, resulting in a legal dispute between the state and national organizations. A federal district court initially sided with the national group in blocking the filings.
The Ninth Circuit reversed that ruling in 2025, holding that state-recognized party members have the right to recruit candidates and participate in elections. Following the decision, the Arizona organization continued to operate independently, officially naming Johnson as chair in July 2025. Johnson said the party would rebrand and use its ballot access to provide a lower-barrier path for unaffiliated and independent candidates to appear on the ballot.
As part of that rebranding, it changed its name from No Labels to the Arizona Independent Party. However, the party’s ballot status has since been challenged after the state Republican and Democratic parties, as well as the Citizens Clean Elections Commission, asked a judge to overturn Secretary of State Adrian Fontes’s approval of the change. That legal challenge is ongoing, with a hearing in March.
Johnson has defended his involvement in the race, stating that party leaders are entitled to support candidates they believe best represent the party’s objectives. Despite requesting her withdrawal, Johnson acknowledged that Hourihan is legally permitted to remain in the race and pursue the party’s nomination. However, he said party leadership is not obligated to individually support the eventual nominee if it disagrees with the outcome of a contested primary.
The decision to back Lytle has also drawn criticism from Richard Grayson, a longtime independent candidate who was involved with the organization when it operated as the state’s No Labels affiliate and who appeared on the 2025 special election ballot for Arizona’s 7th Congressional District under its then-No Labels line. Grayson has argued that the party should provide equal access and coverage to all candidates, regardless of their qualifications.
In a January 26 opinion for Independent Newsmedia, Grayson, who has since been identified by local media as running for Arizona’s 5th Congressional District this year as a member of the Green Party, argued that the Arizona Independent Party was originally formed to offer voters an alternative to the Democratic and Republican parties, referencing Johnson’s own remarks that equal ballot access is a core part of the party’s mission. He defended Hourihan, writing that she has actively campaigned across Arizona for months and has received notable grassroots support and community media coverage prior to Lytle’s entrance.
“The issue here is not the merits of either candidate,” Grayson wrote. “It is about process and fairness. Independent voters are drawn to the AIP because they expect a bottom-up party, not one shaped by insider preferences or uneven visibility.”
Grayson contended that Lytle’s entrance into the race and subsequent media coverage has steered public opinion and led readers to have an incomplete understanding of the primary. He noted that other political parties in Arizona are holding competitive primaries and said the AIP should meet that same democratic standard, cautioning that “voters, not party leaders or headlines, should decide.”
The Arizona Independent Party’s gubernatorial contest will be decided in the August 4 primary. However, the Capitol Times wrote that if a ruling is issued before then declaring the group not a recognized party under state law, both Lytle and Hourihan could be required to run as unaffiliated candidates, which would trigger substantially higher signature thresholds to reach the November ballot.
Competition is healthy, and as the article states, the party is getting media buzz because of it. That’s a good thing. The party chair, though, is not coming off well in his ham-handed attempts to swing the race.
In Arizona, candidates of recognized political parties are nominated by primary elections. Party organizations can choose to endorse, oppose, or remain neutral on nominations. The only legitimate way to stop a nomination is for another candidate to win a contested primary.
Recognized minor parties have the potential to nominate dozens of candidates for Congress, statewide offices, and the state legislature.
Alternative party candidates driven by ego tend to run for the highest office up for election – in this case, governor.
There is no realistic probability of an alternative party candidate being elected governor. Rather than pressuring a candidate to withdraw entirely, party leaders could encourage negotiation to have candidates run for different offices. That way, they would have more candidates on the general election ballot rather than have candidates compete for the same nomination in low turnout primaries.