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. He became well-known when he was chosen by the Democratic Party to run for the U.S. Senate in South Carolina in 2010. He was the first African-American person to be nominated for the U.S. Senate by a major party in South Carolina.

Greene's campaign in 2010 received a lot of media attention. Many people in his own party were surprised by his win. He also ran for the state legislature in 2011.

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. His father wanted African-Americans to have a bigger role in politics.

Alvin Greene earned a college degree in political science in 2000. He studied at the University of South Carolina.

Greene served in the U.S. Army from 2007 to 2009. Before that, he was in the South Carolina Air National Guard. He also served in the U.S. Air Force as an intelligence specialist. He was in the Army National Guard for a short time too.

During his time in the Air Force, Greene received some low marks from his leaders. They said he was not always organized. He left the Army in 2009 after 13 years of service. He received an honorable discharge.

For his military service, Greene earned several medals. These included the Air Force Good Conduct Medal and the National Defense Service Medal. He also received the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.

Political Campaigns

Running for U.S. Senate in 2010

Greene first thought about running for office in 2008. He was stationed in Korea at the time. On June 8, 2010, he won the Democratic primary election. This meant he would represent the Democratic Party in the U.S. Senate race.

He won with 59% of the votes. His opponent, Vic Rawl, received 41%. Greene's win was a big surprise. At the time, Greene was unemployed. He was living with his father in Manning, South Carolina. He won the primary even though he spent very little money. He also did not have a website or yard signs.

Questions About His Campaign

After Greene won the primary, some Democratic officials had questions. They wondered about his campaign. He did not attend a party meeting. He also tried to pay his fee with a personal check. This was not the usual way to pay.

Some people wondered how he won. South Carolina State Senator Robert Ford thought his last name, "Greene," was common. He suggested that many African-American voters might have recognized it. Some officials thought Greene might have been a "plant" from the Republican Party. They called for an investigation. Greene said this was not true.

The South Carolina Democratic Party held a meeting. They looked into the election results. Greene did not attend this meeting. The committee decided there was not enough proof to change the results. So, Greene remained the nominee.

Later, a state investigation looked into Greene's money. They wanted to know how he paid his filing fee. The investigation found that Greene had paid the fee himself.

The South Carolina Democratic Party asked Greene to step down. They said that questions about him would make it hard to run a good campaign. But Greene refused to quit. He said the party should support the people's choice.

Media Attention

Greene became a very talked-about person in politics. He was known for his unique way of speaking. He often paused or said "OK" in the middle of sentences.

In an interview, he joked about making toys that looked like him. This joke was not always understood by the media. A study in 2010 found that Greene's campaign got the most media attention. This was compared to all other political campaigns that year.

A hip hop video about him became popular online. It was called "Alvin Greene is on the scene." It used clips of him and promoted his campaign. Greene said he had nothing to do with making the video.

General Election

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

Greene hired Suzanne Coe as his campaign manager. She said she helped him because she saw his honesty.

In the main election, Greene ran against Jim DeMint. DeMint was the Republican Senator. Greene also faced a Green Party candidate and some write-in candidates. On November 2, 2010, Greene lost the election to DeMint.

Running for State House in 2011

After the Senate election, Greene decided to run again. On December 24, 2010, he filed to run for the South Carolina House of Representatives. This was a special election. The election was held on February 15, 2011. Greene received 37 votes.

Considering a Presidential Campaign in 2012

After his Senate loss, Greene thought about running for President of the United States. He asked the South Carolina Democratic Party about the fee. He told a local newspaper he was "seriously considering" it. He was not sure which party he would run for.

His Political Ideas

Economy

During his 2010 Senate campaign, Greene had a slogan. It was: "Let's get South Carolina back to work." He wanted to lower the price of gas. He also supported offshore drilling.

Government Reform

Greene believed that government needed more accountability. He used the example of mismanagement at the Pentagon. He also criticized how big companies influenced politics. He once said, "Half the members of the US Senate work for BP. The other half work for Halliburton."

Health Care

Greene wrote an article explaining his political views. He supported free universal health care. He said the United States should learn from countries like Austria, Britain, or Canada.

Judicial Reform

Greene thought that punishments for mistakes should be fair. They should fit the wrongdoing. He said, "Fairness saves us money." He also noted that more money is spent on inmates than on students.

2018 Midterm Elections

In an interview in 2018, Greene said he supported President Donald Trump.

See also

In Spanish: Alvin Greene para niños