Candidate facing felony wins primary

COLUMBIA, S.C. – A day after an unemployed veteran charged with a felony shocked South Carolina’s Democratic establishment by winning the U.S. Senate primary, party officials were still scratching their heads: What happened?

Alvin Greene, 32, didn’t raise any money. He didn’t have a website. And his opponent was a relatively better-known former legislator, Vic Rawl.

Greene was considered such a long shot that his opponent and media didn’t even bother to check his background. If they had, they would have discovered he faces a felony obscenity charge after an alleged encounter with a college student last fall.

After the Associated Press reported Greene’s charge Wednesday, the leader of the state Democratic party said she asked Greene to withdraw from the race.

“I did not do this lightly, as I believe strongly that the Democratic voters of this state have the right to select our nominee,” Fowler said. “But this new information about Mr. Greene … would certainly have affected the decisions of many of those voters.”

But Greene said he will not step aside.