NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A Tennessee lawyer who finished a distant second to President Barack Obama in Louisiana’s Democratic primary in March won’t get any Louisiana delegates to the party’s national convention.
The state Democratic Party says John Wolfe failed to comply with the party’s delegate selection plan. He missed deadlines to certify an authorized representative for his campaign in the state and to provide a necessary statement of participation to the state party.
Wolfe got almost 12 percent of the statewide vote. Analysts said he would have earned an estimated three delegates, based on his totals in some congressional districts. Louisiana would have been one of the only states where Democratic delegates would have gone to an Obama opponent.
Wolfe didn’t return a call placed to his Chattanooga phone number Monday.
Louisiana sends 71 delegates to the national convention. Sixty-four will be pledged to Obama. Seven “super delegates” are uncommitted but they include prominent state party leaders, including chairman Buddy Leach and U. S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, who are considered certain to support Obama.
Wolfe was one of three little-known challengers to Obama on the March 24 ballot. Wolfe, on his campaign website, says Obama is too cozy with Wall Street and corporate interests and says corporate tax rates are too low.
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Note: Wolfe was the Democratic nominee against Chuck Fleischmann in the 2010 3rd Congressional District election He had previously run unsuccessfully for various other offices, including the Tennessee state Senate and Chattanooga mayor. He was also on the presidential ballot in New Hampshire earlier this year.