New Hampshire Full of Weird Candidates

Meet Vernim Supreme. He’s running in the New Hampshire presidential primary—as he does every four years—on a platform of zombie readiness, obligatory tooth brushing, and a pony for every American. He often wears a rubber boot for a hat and likes to confront his, er, more established competitors—he recently asked Herman Cain if he could be ambassador to “Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan.” Such is the New Hampshire primary, which is packed with lesser-known, often oddball candidates, the Wall Street Journal observes.

It costs just $1,000 to get on the New Hampshire ballot—as opposed to $35,000 in South Carolina—so 30 Republicans and 14 Democrats have taken the plunge, the most since 1992. Some, like Buddy Roemer or Fred Karger, have legitimate political resumes. Others have more esoteric agendas. Democrat Bob Greene, for instance, says he’s running to get “all the candidates talking about Thorium,” an element found in garden dirt that he thinks could power the country’s nuclear reactors. “I should probably not say this on record,” he confides, “but my odds of winning are zero.” (More New Hampshire stories.)