Despite primary vote, Wolfe gets no Arkansas delegates

LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas Democrats selected 55 delegates to send to the party’s national convention in September, and none are pledged to John Wolfe, who captured 42 percent of the vote against President Barack Obama in last month’s state primary.

Arkansas Democratic Party Chairman Will Bond has maintained that Wolfe did not file the necessary paperwork to qualify to send delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N. C., but the attorney from Tennessee has filed a lawsuit challenging that ruling.

Had any Wolfe supporters shown up, “they probably would have been allowed to attend as guests,” Bond said.

However, the portion of the meeting during which actual voting for delegates took place was open only to party members eligible to vote and potential delegates, not media or guests. Party spokeswoman Candace Martin said the policy was written into the convention’s bylaws last year.

Wolfe claims in his lawsuit filed in federal court in Arkansas that 42 percent of Democrats who voted in the state’s May 22 primary would be disenfranchised by not being able to send a proportionate number of delegates to the Democratic National Convention during the first week in September.

The party filed a response on Thursday asking that the suit be dismissed on grounds that Wolfe failed to state a claim. The party says Wolfe didn’t file two documents that had to be on hand before the primary.

Wolfe said in a phone interview Saturday that the national party is working to stifle public expressions of dissent among Democrats.

“All across the country, Democrats are upset with Obama and independents are upset with Obama and they want people to come to the convention and just bow their heads,” said Wolfe, who lives in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Bond acknowledged the primary results reflected a large protest vote, but he said Obama will get the delegates.

“We feel that everybody had an equal chance to be a delegate. Mr. Wolfe has failed to follow the rules of the state party ... and the national party,” Bond said.

Wolfe said he believes he is entitled to 19 delegates. He said if he prevails in court, he won’t seek to unseat delegates elected on Saturday as long as 19 pledge to back him in the first round of voting at the convention.

Bond said about 160 people were in the closed session to choose the delegates. The Democrats met at the Robinson Center in downtown Little Rock.