He was a candidate for Governor of Massachusetts in 1986, but dropped out of the race due to allegations of forging names on his nomination papers, having ties to organized crime, and erratic personal behavior.

He defeated Thomas P. Tierney for the Republican nomination and faced Democratic State Senator Chester G. Atkins in the general election.

[8] In 1985, Hyatt, along with radio host Jerry Williams, led the effort to gather signatures to place a measure to repeal Massachusetts' mandatory seat belt law on the 1986 ballot.

He opposed the state law that made wearing a seat belt mandatory, the use of roadblocks to crack down on drunken driving, busing, and the use of public funds for abortions.

[6][10] Shortly before the Republican convention in April 1986, Associated Builders and Contractors, a group of Massachusetts builders and contractors that had hired Hyatt as a consultant on a petition drive, announced that they had fired him for ineffectuality and erratic behavior, including staring off into space, heavy coffee drinking, talking on the phone when no one was on the other end, and twice appearing naked before a secretary in his office.

[13] During the campaign, Hyatt and his aides were investigated by the Massachusetts Attorney General's office on charges for forging names on his nomination papers.

He was also recorded discussing politics and accepting a cash gift from New England mobster George Kattar on a Federal Bureau of Investigation wiretap.

[5][11] In June, Switzler dropped out of the race after inaccuracies about his military record were revealed, leaving Hyatt the only Republican candidate for Governor.

At the time of the interview he had been unable to find work for several months, was living off of a stipend provided to him by his father, going through a divorce, and undergoing psychological counseling.

In a 2005 Boston Globe column, Hyatt was described as occasionally working as a political or media consultant, on probation for making hostile threats, not having a car or computer, being in poor health, and described his living situation by stating "I bounce around".

On September 26, 2007, he was disbarred by the Board of Bar Overseers for "serious crimes", including intimidation of a witness and violating a protective order.