He attended the uncommon schools and Cincinnati College, and studied law in Louisville, Kentucky, where he was admitted to the bar in 1824.
[1] He was elected county prosecuting attorney, and a member of the State house of representatives in 1828 and 1829.
He was reelected to fill the vacancy caused by his own resignation and served from December 27, 1834, to March 3, 1835.
Lytle was an opponent of free black men and encouraged mob attacks against African Americans in Cincinnati.
In 1836 he led rally that encouraged violence against African Americans, stating to the crowd that they should "castrate the men and the women!"