Alvin Greene facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Alvin Greene
Personal details
Born	Alvin Michael Greene (1977-08-30) August 30, 1977 (age 47) Florence, South Carolina, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Education	University of South Carolina, Columbia (BA)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Air Force  United States Army
Years of service	1996–2009
Unit	Army National Guard
Awards	Global War on Terrorism Service Medal Air Force Good Conduct Medal Korea Defense Service Medal National Defense Service Medal

Alvin Michael Greene (born August 30, 1977) is an American politician from South Carolina. In 2010, he became the Democratic Party's chosen candidate for the United States Senate election in South Carolina. He ran against the current Republican Senator, Jim DeMint, and was defeated. Alvin Greene made history as the first African-American person to be nominated for the U.S. Senate by a major political party in South Carolina.

Greene gained attention for his unusual campaign style and the many questions raised by members of his own party about how he won the primary election. He also received a lot of media coverage. After his Senate campaign, he ran for the state legislature in a special election in February 2011, where he received 37 votes.

Early Life and Military Service

Alvin Greene was born in Florence, South Carolina. His father, James Greene Sr., was a retired teacher and a barber. He also owned a nightclub and wanted African-Americans to have a bigger role in politics and entertainment.

Alvin Greene earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of South Carolina in 2000.

Military Career

Greene served in the U.S. Army as a supply specialist from February 2007 to August 2009. Before that, he was in the South Carolina Air National Guard from 1995 to 2002. He also served on active duty with the U.S. Air Force as an intelligence specialist from July 2002 to September 2005. He was also with the Army National Guard for seven months before joining the Army.

During his time in the Air Force, Greene received several awards for his service. These included the Air Force Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. He also received the Korea Defense Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon.

Political Campaigns

U.S. Senate Campaign, 2010

Alvin Greene said he first thought about running for office in 2008 while he was stationed in Korea. On June 8, 2010, he won the Democratic primary election for U.S. Senate in South Carolina. He received 100,362 votes, which was 59% of all votes cast. His opponent, Vic Rawl, received 69,853 votes (41%).

Greene's victory over Rawl, who was a Charleston County council member and former state legislator, was a big surprise. At the time of his Senate campaign, Greene was unemployed and living with his father in Manning, South Carolina. He won the primary election even though he did very little campaigning and spent very little money. He did not have a website or any yard signs.

Questions About His Candidacy

After Greene was announced as the winner, some Democratic officials started to ask questions about him and his campaign. He did not attend the state Democratic party convention. He also did not file some required forms. He tried to pay his $10,440 filing fee with a personal check instead of a check from a campaign account.

Many people were confused by his primary victory. Some suggested that his last name, "Greene," is common among African-Americans, which might have helped him get votes. Others wondered if he was a "plant" from the Republican Party, meaning someone secretly put forward to cause problems for the Democrats. Greene denied this idea.

There were also questions about where Greene got the money for his filing fee. Candidates are usually required to pay this fee from their own money. Greene stated that he saved two years of his military pay to cover the fee. The South Carolina Democratic Party looked into these questions but found no strong evidence to change the primary election result.

The South Carolina Democratic Party asked Greene to withdraw from the race several times. They believed that certain issues would make it hard for him to run a statewide campaign.

Media Attention

Alvin Greene became a very interesting person in American politics. He was known for his unique way of speaking during interviews. He would often interrupt himself, pause in the middle of sentences, and say "OK" frequently.

Sometimes, his jokes were not fully understood by the media. For example, he once told a British newspaper that one way to create jobs was to hire people to make toys that looked like him. A study in July 2010 found that Greene's campaign received the most media attention of all political campaigns that year.

In late July 2010, a hip hop video called "Alvin Greene is on the scene" became very popular online. It promoted Greene's campaign and mixed clips of him with clips of basketball player LeBron James. Greene said he had no part in making the video.

General Election

Alvin Greene was the first African-American person to be nominated for the U.S. Senate by a major party in South Carolina.

Greene refused to leave the race, saying that the Democratic Party had chosen him, and they should support their choice. He believed that "the people have spoken."

In the general election, Greene ran against Senator DeMint, Green Party candidate Tom Clements, and some write-in candidates. On November 2, 2010, Greene lost to DeMint. DeMint received 61.48% of the votes, Greene received 27.65%, and Clements received 9.21%.

South Carolina House of Representatives Campaign, 2011

On December 24, 2010, Greene decided to run as a candidate in a special election for the South Carolina House of Representatives. This seat became open after Representative Cathy Harvin passed away. The primary election was held on February 15, 2011. Greene received 37 votes in this election.

Potential Presidential Campaign, 2012

After losing the 2010 Senate election, Greene reportedly asked the South Carolina Democratic Party about the fee to run for President of the United States. The next day, he confirmed to a newspaper that he was "seriously considering" running for president. He was not sure which party's nomination he would seek.

Political Ideas

Economy

During his 2010 Senate campaign, Alvin Greene's main slogan was: "Let's get South Carolina back to work." He supported ideas to lower the price of gas. He also supported offshore drilling, which is drilling for oil or gas in the ocean.

Government Reform

Greene believed that there needed to be more accountability in government. He used the example of poor management at the Pentagon to show this. He also criticized how much influence large companies had on politics. He once said, "Half the members of the US Senate work for BP. The other half work for Halliburton."

Health Care

In an article he wrote, Greene explained his political views in more detail. He supported the idea of free universal health care. He said that the United States should have a health care system similar to those in Austria, Britain, or Canada.

Judicial Reform

Greene believed that the punishment for a mistake or wrongdoing should be fair and fit the seriousness of the action. He said, "Fairness saves us money." He also pointed out that more money is spent on people in prison than on students.

Later Political Views

In a 2018 interview, Alvin Greene stated that he supported President Donald Trump.

See also

In Spanish: Alvin Greene para niños