Meet Alvin Greene the unemployed vet who raised no $ but won SC Dem Senate primary

[WI_DEM]

I love this!

COLUMBIA, S.C. — An unemployed military veteran who raised no funds and put up no campaign website shocked South Carolina's Democratic Party leadership by capturing the nomination Tuesday to face Republican U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint in November.

With nearly all precincts reporting, Alvin Greene, 32, commanded 59 percent of the vote against 41 percent for former four-term state lawmaker Vic Rawl, 64, who had raised about $186,000 and had to abruptly scrap a late-week fundraiser for the fall.

State Democratic Party Chairwoman Carol Fowler said voters unfamiliar with either candidate may have voted alphabetically for Greene over Rawl.

"As far as I know, he never showed up at anything. Vic Rawl has been campaigning everywhere from the time he filed," she said.

Rawl said he was disappointed.

"I would've liked very much to be a candidate against Jim DeMint," Rawl said, describing his sole primary rival as something of a mystery. "I never saw him. I've still never met him."

As for Greene, he couldn't explain it either but thanked voters in a state numb with high unemployment and said: "Let's continue to make history and get South Carolina back to work."

Greene said he spent a total of 13 years in the Air Force and Army before leaving the Army in August.

Late Tuesday, stunned Democratic leaders in South Carolina struggled to comprehend how the little-seen candidate upstaged Rawl, a moderate Southern Democrat they viewed as their far stronger bet against DeMint. Rawl's lengthy resume lists four past state House terms and former posts as prosecutor, circuit court judge and more.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/08/alvin-greene-upsets-vic-r_n_605365.html

[saltpoint]

1. Politics can be dull as pitch or, once in a while, weird and wayward.

This is one of those wayward stories.

Greene has a chance to make a little deal with History here. He can start as a clean slate candidate and possibly argue for veterans' well-being and any other issue he wants to advance.

I hope the national party can throw him some serious bucks and see this as an opportunity not to be lost.

[mikelgb]

2. If the ballot lists occupations like in CA then it is easy to see why he won.

Veteran vs. Politician

Plus the Governor Race sapped all the media attention.

[NV Whino]

3. All I can say is November is going to be very interesting.

[mzmolly]

4. Fascinating.

Will be good to see if he has a shot at the GE. :crazy:

[sandyd921]

5. Open primary

SC has open primaries in which republicans can vote. Sounds like an organized effort by the repubs to make sure as weak a Democratic candidate as possible is the only opposition to Jim DeMint. That's what Thom Hartmann was surmising earlier on his program. It makes sense to me.

[4lbs]

6. That would make sense if the two Democrats got more votes combined than there were registered

Democrats in South Carolina, and if Demint vote fewer R votes than one normally expects in a primary.

Let's see.

http://www.enr-scvotes.org/SC/16117/27397/en/summary.html


~ 424,000 Republican ballots cast
~ 197,000 Democratic ballots cast
~ 2,600,000 total registered voters in S.C. --> turnout was 24%

Jim Demint and Susan Gaddy got almost 412,000 of the 424,000 Republican votes. That's about 97%.


Greene and Rawl got almost 170,000 of the 197,000 Democratic votes. That's about 86%.


If anything, Greene won by about 30,000 votes, which is almost the difference in number of Democratic votes cast for U.S. Senate and total Democratic votes.

There was no huge Republican push to put in an unknown Democrat. 97% of Republicans that voted, voted for a Republican in the U.S. Senate primary.

What needs to be asked is why 27,000 Democratic voters in S.C., or almost 14%, didn't vote for either of the Democrats.

[sandyd921]

7. You're probably right about it.

In another thread there was speculation about Diebold voting machines which are still in use in SC. Could that account for the 14% of votes that don't register a vote for a senate candidate?

[Diamonique]

8. Uh oh... here comes trouble.

SC Dem Senate Candidate Recently Charged With Showing Obscene Web Photos To Student

From TPM:

Still more bad news for Dems in South Carolina: it turns out that Alvin Greene, the no-name candidate who somehow sailed to victory Tuesday to challenge Republican Sen. Jim DeMint in the fall, was charged late last year with showing obscene pictures to a college student, the AP reports.

Greene, an unemployed veteran and political newcomer, posted bond after his arrest in November; the charges are pending.

More at the link.