...even a strong second place could be enough to embarrass Obama just weeks after a federal inmate in Texas won 40 percent of the Democratic primary vote in West Virginia.

Obama's Arkansas Opponent Eyes Primary Upset

 May 22, 2012 • By MICHAEL WARREN

       

“We’ve had some small contributions, but the largest was, I think, maybe a hundred dollars,” says presidential candidate John Wolfe Jr., speaking to THE WEEKLY STANDARD. “I’m basically paying for this myself, dipping into my retirement account.”

With those retirement savings, Wolfe may be buying an upset against the president of the United States in today’s Democratic primary in Arkansas. He won’t beat Barack Obama outright—not even Wolfe says that’s likely.

But even a strong second place could be enough to embarrass Obama just weeks after a federal inmate in Texas won 40 percent of the Democratic primary vote in West Virginia. A recent poll of Democrats in one of Arkansas’s congressional districts showed Wolfe only seven points behind Obama, with signs indicating Wolfe was gaining ground on the president. Not bad for a campaign with little organization, no budget for TV and radio ads, and a completely unknown candidate.

In the Louisiana primary earlier this year, Wolfe won 12 percent against Obama, although he won’t get any delegates to the national convention. (Wolfe says he’s fighting that decision in court and will challenge the Arkansas Democratic party's plans to discount any delegates he wins there, too.) In Arkansas, Wolfe says he needs to at least double his share of the vote to make a statement. “I think there’s a chance of getting higher than that,” he adds.