There were two big upsets in yesterday’s primary elections. The first was Blanche Lincoln’s, in Arkansas, because people expected her to lose. The second was Alvin Greene’s, in South Carolina (obviously), because … nobody even knew he existed. That may be an overstatement, but not by much. After filing to run for Senate with $10,400 of his own money, Greene’s campaign “went dark,” as the Columbia Free Times reported a couple of weeks ago. He didn’t raise any funds. He didn’t print any signs. He didn’t build a website. He didn’t show up to the party convention. Though he claims to have traveled around the state during his campaign, he can’t name a single place he visited. “It wasn’t much, I mean, just, it was — it wasn’t much. Not much, I mean, it wasn’t much,” he nervously tells Mother Jones.
All we know about Alvin Greene, really, is that he’s an unemployed former thirteen-year veteran of the Army and Air Force, he’s 32 years old, he is black, he may be an alien, and he’s now the Democratic candidate in the race against incumbent tea-party favorite Jim DeMint. So how in the hell did he pull it off, especially when his primary opponent, Vic Rawl, was a four-term state legislator and former judge, with, you know, an actual campaign?
Today is a very dark day for Vic Rawl.
Alvin Greene UPSET: Mystery Man Stuns In South Carolina Senate Primary [AP via HuffPo]
Who Is Alvin Greene? [Mother Jones]
A Phantom Candidate for U.S. Senate? [Free Times]
