COLUMBIA — With befuddled, angry and embarrassed Democratic Party officials saying they are powerless to intervene, S.C. election officials will meet today to certify Alvin Greene's surprising win in Tuesday's Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate.
Greene, a 32-year-old unemployed military veteran who did little if any campaigning but easily beat a far better-funded primary opponent, faces a felony obscenity charge. That charge alleges Greene showed a University of South Carolina student pornography in a computer lab and suggested they go to her room.
On Thursday, the No. 3 Democrat in the U.S. House - Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, D-S.C. - called on federal authorities to investigate how an unknown with serious legal baggage could be the party's Senate nominee.
"Here is Alvin Greene, unemployed, he goes into the Democratic headquarters and pays $10,000," said Clyburn. "That's no little bit of money for an unemployed person. This guy ... who is he? Where did he come from?"
Greene has not reported any fundraising, run any ads, or put up signs or a website in his challenge of Republican Sen. Jim DeMint. He had been considered such a long shot that neither his opponent nor the media bothered to check his background.
Read the complete story at thestate.com