Wolfe falls short in New Hampshire bid for president

There will be no "Wolfe-mentum."

John Wolfe, a Chattanooga attorney and former 3rd District congressional candidate, came up short in the New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary, losing to President Barack Obama by tens of thousands of votes. With 89.4 percent of precincts reporting Tuesday night, Wolfe had tallied 215 votes, well short of Obama's 43,567.

Wolfe, who branded himself as a true progressive, was accompanied on the ballot with 13 fellow Democrats.

Speaking from his hotel room in Manchester, the candidate said he wished he had started his campaign earlier.

"My regret is that I didn't start this about a year ago," Wolfe said. "The people in New Hampshire are really on the ball, and they listen to what you say. This is a heavily politicized state."

Wolfe's efforts to reach voters included placing half-page advertisements in the New Hampshire Union Leader, radio ads and on-the-street campaigning. To help out his cause, Wolfe said he hired a handful of people from Occupy New Hampshire, based in Manchester.

Wolfe also participated in a "lesser-known candidates" debate at St. Anselm College in December, which was broadcast on C-SPAN.

Despite the overwhelming defeat, Wolfe said he would go through with his plans to pursue the Democratic nomination in other states.

"Yeah, I'm going to keep doing it," he said. "You get better with time. My message is getting sharper, my speeches are getting better … It's been a good experience, and I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to give it a shot."

Wolfe said he planned to have his name on the ballot in Louisiana, Missouri, Kentucky, Arkansas and West Virginia.

Updated @ 7:52 a.m. on 01/11/12 to fix a typographical error.