The case of Alvin Greene, who is now the Democratic Party’s nominee to run against Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), is bizarre. Greene never gave a speech, started a website, hired a staff, planted a lawn sign or spent his campaign funds — of which he currently has just $114 — on anything besides the filing fee. Yet he won Tuesday’s Democratic primary with nearly 60 percent of the vote, beating a former judge and four-term state legislator.
Now it comes to pass that Greene faces obscenity charges based on allegations that he showed a young girl pornography on his library computer screen and made lewd comments to her. There are is also some uncertainty about the circumstances surrounding his departure from the military, the most compelling part of the 32-year-old’s resume. Dave Weigel calls Greene the “kind of opponent candidates dream about.”
The Democratic establishment in South Carolina should be getting used to losing to all comers. In 2008, their preferred candidate lost to Ron Paul Republican Bob Conley. Conley lost the general election but ended up holding Lindsey Graham to less than 60 percent of the vote. I wrote about Conley’s campaign for the main site.