Barry Hess

After growing up in Florida, Ohio, and New Hampshire, Hess earned a B.A. in English from Fordham University in 1979. [1]. After working in Manhattan, Hess later relocated to Arizona, and has served as vice-chair of the Arizona Libertarian Party. [2]

Hess sought the Libertarian Party's presidential nomination in 2000 [[3]], receiving only 6% of ballots cast in the Libertarian National Convention vote in which Harry Browne won the party's nomination. [4] He went on to recieve the Libertarian nomination in the Arizona Senate race. In the general election, where Hess ran in a race where incumbent Republican John Kyl saw no formal Democratic opposition, Hess recieved over 70,000 votes, or rougly 4.5% of the total. [5]

In 2002, Hess ran for Governor of Arizona as a Libertarian. During his 2002 campaign, Hess admitted to owing the Internal Revenue Service $47,000 in unpaid taxes. [6] Running against Democrat Janet Napolitano, Independent Richard Mahoney, and Republican Matt Salmon, Hess recieved over 20,000 votes, or 1.6% of the ballots cast. [7].

Hess declared his intention to run for Governor again in November 2005, but delayed his formal announcement as he deliberated whether to run as a Republican or as a Libertarian. In February 2006, Hess announced his candidacy as a Libertarian and was uncontested for his party's nomination. During the campaign, Hess was publicly endorsed by professional wrestler Sean Morley [8] and by Republican Mike Harris, who was defeated in his own party's primary. [9] In the general election, Hess garnered over 30,000 votes, or 2.0%, against Democrat Janet Napolitano and Republican Len Munsil. [10]

In February 2007, Hess announced his intention to seek the Libertarian Party's 2008 presidential nomination. [11]

• Hess for Governor