Alvin Michael Greene (August 30, 1977 – March 3, 2026) was an American politician. He was known for being the Democratic nominee in the 2010 United States Senate election in South Carolina. Greene was the first African-American to be nominated for U.S. Senate by a major party in South Carolina.
On June 8, 2010, Greene won an unexpected victory in the South Carolina Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. Despite the fact that he did not actively campaign for the position, he defeated Charleston County councilmember and former state legislator Vic Rawl, 59%-41%. Members of Greene's own party questioned the legitimacy of his victory. In June 2010, the executive committee of the South Carolina Democratic Party held a hearing to assess the legitimacy of the primary results and found insufficient evidence of impropriety to justify holding a new primary election. Nevertheless, the South Carolina Democratic Party called for Greene to withdraw his candidacy, asserting that pending criminal charges against him would make victory impossible. During his general election campaign, Greene became known for "strange, well-documented behavior on the campaign trail," for the intense media attention he received, and for continuing to pursue his Senate bid despite having been indicted. He was defeated by incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Jim DeMint, 61.48%-27.65%.
Greene later ran for the South Carolina state legislature in a February 2011 special election, receiving 37 votes.
Early life and military service Greene was born in Florence, South Carolina, on August 30, 1977. His father, James Greene Sr., is a retired teacher from the Clemson Extension program, a barber, and a nightclub owner "who wanted blacks to play a bigger role in politics and entertainment".. He received a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of South Carolina in 2000.
He served as a unit supply specialist in the U.S. Army from February 2007 to August 2009. He also previously served in the South Carolina Air National Guard from 1995 to 2002, on active duty with the U.S. Air Force as an intelligence specialist from July 2002 to September 2005 and with the Army National Guard for seven months prior to joining the Army. During Greene's time in the Air Force, he received numerous poor evaluations from his superiors. The evaluations stated that Greene was an ineffective leader who was disorganized, made costly errors, and could not clearly express his thoughts. Greene received an honorable but involuntary discharge from the Army in 2009 after a 13-year career. For his military service, Greene received the Air Force Good Conduct Medal, the Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Korea Defense Service Medal, the Non-Commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, the Army Service Ribbon, and the Air Force Training Ribbon.
Political campaigns U.S. Senate campaign, 2010
Democratic primary Greene said that he originally got the idea to run for office in 2008 when he was stationed in Korea. On June 8, 2010, he won the South Carolina Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, receiving 100,362 (59%) votes out of 170,215 votes cast; 69,853 (41%) went to Vic Rawl. Greene's victory over Rawl, a Charleston County councilmember and former state legislator, was described as an upset. At the time of his Senate campaign, Greene was unemployed and living with and caring for his father in Manning, South Carolina.Hutchins, Corey. A Phantom Candidate for U.S. Senate? Free Times. Issue #23.20 :: May 19, 2010 – May 25, 2010 Greene won the primary despite very limited campaigning and campaign spending and despite having no website and no yard signs. Voter turnout in most counties was in the range of 20–30%.South Carolina State Election Commission. Official election results. Note: scroll down or page through the list to find the results for the Democratic Senate primary. US Senate Results (Dem). June 14, 2010.
Questions about candidacy Greene was declared the winner and Rawl congratulated him on his win, but Democratic officials began to voice opposition and to raise questions about Greene and his campaign. He did not attend the state Democratic party convention, did not file legally required forms with the Secretary of the Senate or Federal Election Commission, and attempted to pay his $10,440 filing fee with a personal check instead of a check from a campaign account.
Though his primary victory baffled many, some possible explanations were offered. South Carolina State Senator Robert Ford claimed that the surname "Greene" is common among African-Americans, and suggested that fact may have caused African-American voters to identify with him.Robert Behre and David Slade, Update: Clyburn calls for probe in Senate race The Post and Courier, June 10, 2010. Some, including House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, speculated that Greene was a Republican plant and called for an investigation into the primary.South Carolina Votes First, Asks Questions (Who’s Alvin Greene?) Later The New York Times, Mark Leibovich. June 11, 2010 Officials noted that similar tactics had been used in the past,Cook, John. Mystery S.C. nominee has pending felony charge . Yahoo! News, June 9, 2010. including in a 1990 primary in South Carolina.Franke-Ruta, Garance. Intrigue surrounding S.C.'s Democratic primary deepens, The Washington Post, June 11, 2010. Retrieved June 16, 2010.Hunter, Kathleen. Clyburn Calls for Probe Into South Carolina Primary Candidates. Congressional Quarterly. June 10, 2010. Greene denied the assertion that he was a Republican plant. Vic Rawl's campaign issued a press release that election forensics analyst Walter Mebane had "performed second-digit Benford's law tests on the precinct returns from the Senate race" and found improbable vote patterns. Michael Miller reportedly found a significant difference in the vote percentages in absentee voters and election day voters, indicating a corrupted count.
Some commentators raised questions about the source of Greene's funding for the $10,440 filing fee. Federal and state law requires a candidate to pay a filing fee out of his own pocket. Greene claimed that he paid the filing fee by saving two years of his service pay.Top Dem wants mystery candidate investigated. NBC News, June 10, 2010. However, Greene qualified to be represented by a public defender in his obscenity case, in which charges were handed down that same year.Cook, John. Where'd Alvin Greene get, K to run for Senate? Yahoo! News, June 10, 2010. Former state Democratic Party chairman Dick Harpootlian told NPR that this revelation raised doubts about whether Greene could have afforded the filing fee.
In response to an official protest filed by Rawl, the executive committee of the South Carolina Democratic Party conducted a formal hearing on June 17, 2010 to assess the legitimacy of the primary election results.Kinnard, Meg (June 17, 2010) "SC Dems hearing protest over US Senate primary", The Associated Press. Retrieved June 17, 2010.O'Donnell, Kelly (June 16, 2010) "SC Dems to hold hearing on Greene tomorrow", MSNBC.com. Retrieved June 17, 2010. Greene neither attended nor sent a representative to the hearing. The executive committee of the South Carolina Democratic Party voted 55 to 10 to reject Rawl's request for a new Senate primary,Capehart, Jonathan (June 18, 2010) , The Washington Post. Retrieved June 18, 2010.Washington, Wayne (June 18, 2010) "Democrats uphold Greene’s nomination for Senate" , The State.com. Retrieved June 18, 2010. finding insufficient evidence of impropriety to disturb the primary election result.Multiple sources: Kinnard, Meg. "SC Dems uphold US Senate primary shocker", The Associated Press. Retrieved June 17, 2010. Toeplitz, Shira (June 18, 2010) "S.C. Dems reject Rawl appeal", Politico. Retrieved June 18, 2010.
On June 27, 2010, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the 5th Circuit Solicitor's office announced that they were investigating Greene's finances. On the same day, it emerged that Greene's public defender had been replaced by a private attorney.Monk, John. Greene’s finances subject of SLED investigation . The State, June 28, 2010. On July 9, 2010, Greene was cleared of wrongdoing after a state criminal probe determined he had indeed paid the $10,400 election-related filing fee from his own personal funds.
At multiple points during the campaign, the South Carolina Democratic Party called for Greene to withdraw his candidacy. In August 2010, South Carolina Democratic Party chairwoman Carol Fowler asserted that the criminal charges against Greene would make it impossible for him to run a statewide campaign.
Media coverage Greene was referred to as an enigmatic figure in American politics. He was known for his "strange, well-documented behavior on the campaign trail". In a June 2010 interview, CNN's Don Lemon asked Greene about his mental state and cognitive ability.
Much attention was devoted to Greene's manner of speaking due to his habits of frequently interrupting himself, halting in mid-sentence, and saying "OK" between statements. At times, his jokes were not well understood by the media; for example, he told British newspaper The Guardian that one way to create jobs would be to employ people to create toys in his likeness.Coming soon: Alvin Greene, the movie Yahoo! News, Michael Calderone. July 29, 2010 A study by the Pew Research Center released in late July 2010 found that Greene's campaign had received the most media attention of all of the 2010 political campaigns.
In late July 2010, a hip hop-based viral video entitled "Alvin Greene is on the scene" became a hit on YouTube and other internet sites, garnering thousands of views an hour. It promoted Greene's candidacy and intermixed media clips of him with clips of LeBron James. AutoTune was used to manipulate some of the lyrics. Greene denied that he played any role in the production of the video.
In August 2010, a reporter visited Greene's home and asked about his recent indictment. In response, Greene "ordered the reporter to 'leave [his] property' and 'go away'". When the reporter "stopped briefly to talk with Greene's brother Jimmy, Alvin Greene began howling and wailing the words, 'no' and 'go'".
General election Greene was the first African-American to be nominated for the U.S. Senate by a major party in South Carolina.Alvin Greene and the Strange Politics of South Carolina , by Terence Samuel, Washington Post Newsweek InteractiveFranke-Ruta, Garance. Clyburn: Alvin Greene is 'someone's plant' in South Carolina, The Washington Post blog, June 6, 2010. Retrieved June 15, 2010. The day after the primary election, the media reported that Greene was facing felony obscenity charges stemming from a November 2009 arrest for allegedly showing a pornographic picture on an Internet site to an 18-year-old female University of South Carolina student in a computer lab and allegedly saying, "Let's go to your room".Khimm, Suzy. Mother Vows Revenge on Alvin Greene for Showing Porn to Her Daughter. Mother Jones. June 10, 2010.Kinnard, Meg. Mystery S.C. Dem has pending felony charge Associated Press. June 9, 2010. Greene refused to bow out of the race, asserting that "the Democratic Party has chosen their nominee, and we have to stand behind their choice. The people have spoken. We need to be pro-South Carolina, not anti-Greene".
Greene hired South Carolina attorney Suzanne Coe as his campaign manager. Coe said she offered to assist Greene after being struck by his honesty and selfless motivation.Alvin Greene Campaign Manager Suzanne Coe: His Honesty is Refreshing WLTX.com, Tony Santaella and James Gilbert. July 29, 2010