Big Turnout for Inmate Taking on Obama

(CN) - About 43 percent of the vote in West Virginia's Democratic presidential primary last week went to a man currently incarcerated in Texas, while President Barack Obama received 57 percent.

Keith Russell Judd, 53, an inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution in Texarkana, is serving time for making threats at the University of New Mexico in 1999, the Associated Press reported.

In nine counties, Judd actually received more votes than Obama, according to the West Virginia secretary of state's office. In Mingo County, he received 62 percent of the vote, and he received 56 percent in Wyoming County.

Secretary of state spokesman Jake Glance told the AP that Judd was able to get on the state's ballot by paying a $2,500 fee and filing a notarized certification of announcement.

Normally, a candidate qualifies for delegates at the Democratic National Convention if he receives at least 15 percent of the vote, but state Democratic Party Executive Director Derek Scarbro told the AP that no one has filed to be a delegate for Judd. Officials are still investigating whether Judd failed to file paperwork required of presidential candidates, Scarbro said.

In contract, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney won his party's primary, receiving over 69 percent of votes cast.

"Keith Judd's performance is embarrassing for Obama and our great state," West Virginia Republican Party Chairman Mike Stuart said.

Anti-Obama sentiment seemed to account for Judd's popularity.

"I voted against Obama," Ronnie Brown, 43, from Cross Lanes, told the AP. "I don't like him. He didn't carry the state before and I'm not going to let him carry it again."

When asked by the AP which candidate he voted for, Brown said, "That guy out of Texas."

Brown's 22-year-old daughter planned on voting for Judd, too, until she realized he was in prison.

"I'm not voting for somebody who's in prison," she told the AP. "I just want to vote against Barack Obama."

Follow @davejourno

Subscribe to Closing Arguments

Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.

Email *

Submit