Meet Obama’s Arkansas Primary Opponent – John Wolfe, Jr.

You might not know it, but Democratic primary voters in Arkansas this year actually have a choice besides President Barack Obama.  Tennessee Attorney John Wolfe, Jr. filed to run in the Democratic primary and if his performance in Louisiana is any indication, he might very well pick up some delegate votes in Arkansas.

In the Louisiana primary last Saturday, Wolfe picked up at least three delegates to the Democratic National Convention this summer in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Overall, Wolfe won around 12 percent of the vote, which is below the 15 percent threshold requirement to be awarded any proportional delegates. However in three districts, he received 17 percent, 20 percent, and 22 percent to pick up some of the Congressional delegates.

Since the Arkansas system works similar to the Louisiana one with a proportional delegate allocation at a 15 percent threshold, Wolfe may win a small portion of Arkansas’ 55 delegates.  And with two out of three Arkansans disapproving of Obama’s job performance – according to this week’s Talk Business poll – you are likely to see a number of protest votes for Wolfe.  Even among Democrats, 22 percent say they disapprove of his job performance.

“The main reason we are running is that we think the progressive wing of the Democratic Party is pretty much ill-represented by the President, especially armed in Wall Street money,” said Wolfe when he filed in Arkansas. “There is very little difference in my opinion between Mitt Romney and President Obama. So I think Democrats in Louisiana and Democrats in Arkansas need to have a choice and I am going to be that choice.”

Wolfe told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he looks forward to campaigning in Arkansas on a shoestring budget utilizing “hotel points, unlimited cell minutes, and Facebook.”

Full rules on how to become a delegate pledge to either Wolfe or President Obama can be found on the Democratic Party of Arkansas’ website.  Filing for delegates takes place between May 14 and May 18 and has only a voluntary fee of $25.  Delegates are elected at district and state convention meetings in June.