Chattanooga attorney John Wolfe garners 246 New Hampshire primary votes

Nearly 60,000 people voted Tuesday in the Democratic presidential primary in New Hampshire, and 246 of them chose John Wolfe, a Chattanooga attorney and four-time congressional candidate.

Wolfe nabbed 0.4 percent of the vote with 99 percent of precincts reporting, according to The Associated Press.

President Barack Obama won, scoring 82 percent and 48,855 votes.

Wolfe branded himself as the more progressive alternative to the president. He finished ninth out of 14 candidates, all of whom were required to be registered Democrats and pay a $1,000 filing fee.

Wolfe, who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 1998, 2002, 2004 and 2010, did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Along with Chattanooga, longshot Democratic candidates in New Hampshire came from California, West Virginia, Wisconsin and several other states.

A Massachusetts man named Vermin Supreme, who pushed for a teeth-brushing requirement, more than tripled Wolfe's total, getting 831 votes and capturing 1 percent. There were 5,879 write-in votes, adding up to 10 percent of the Democratic primary tally.

Wolfe was fined $10,000 in 2008 after he ran for a state Senate seat and never filed a fourth-quarter campaign finance disclosure report with the state as required by law.

The penalty remains unpaid. Until it is paid, Wolfe is barred from qualifying for election in any Tennessee state or local office.

"He's additionally subject to a civil suit by the state for collection of the civil penalty," said John Allyn, counsel for the Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance.

Wolfe campaigned for several weeks in New Hampshire, booking hotel rooms and participating in a televised debate called "Lesser Known Candidates Forum." In a previous interview Wolfe said he had the resources to compete in Louisiana, Missouri and other states with presidential primaries.

He did not say when he would pay the $10,000 fine.