Columbia, South Carolina (CNN) - As Democrats in South Carolina face the uncomfortable prospect of having unemployed political novice Alvin Greene as their Senate nominee in November, some in the party have launched an effort to put a more polished candidate on the ballot as an independent.
Allies of former congressional candidate Linda Ketner, who came within four points of unseating Rep. Henry Brown in 2008, are seeking 10,000 signatures by July 15 to get Ketner's name on the ballot along with Greene and the Republican incumbent, Sen. Jim DeMint.
Ketner confidante Tasha Gandy announced the "all volunteer viral and field organizing effort" in an e-mail to former Ketner staffers Wednesday. "Long shot?," she wrote. "Yes. Have crazier things happened in SC? Yes. Can you help?"
The former staffers have also launched a campaign-style website for the petition drive.
Doug Warner, who served as Ketner's finance director during her House bid, said Ketner, a Charleston businesswoman, has not objected to the effort. Warner said his colleagues wanted to explore what kind of support they could enlist before pushing Ketner to formally jump in the race.
"Because Mr. Greene is a not a strong candidate, our thought was that the people of South Carolina deserver to have viable choice when they go to the polls in November," Warner told CNN.
The Ketner effort comes as members of the state party's executive committee prepare to meet in Columbia Thursday to hear a protest from former state lawmaker Vic Rawl, the establishment-backed candidate who unexpectedly lost to Greene in the Democratic primary.
Rawl is seeking a new election, claiming irregularities in voting patters and flawed voting machines. It's unlikely that the 92-member executive committee will overturn the election results and make Rawl the nominee, but they could call for a new primary vote. It's not clear when a new election would be held.
Greene will not officially be certified as the Democratic nominee until August 16, when the party sends their candidate list to the state election commission.
From CNN Politics
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Talk about ignoring what the people of SC want and only be concerned with what they want. People voted for this man, it's their right to vote for whomever they want.
The shameless republican party of SC is known to be one of the slimiest group of political radicals and activists who have no regard for self or human dignity. As far as they are concerned nothing matters but maintaining political power.
Sc republican politicians are the true representation of the moral cancer that is eating away at the republican party.
Looks to me like Mr Green is the demorats best candidate, he must be, he won the primary. Gotta love it when the demorats are eating their own.
Gotta love the skeptics who think he was a Republican shill. Does that mean that Democrats were forced to vote for him?
Why would Greene want to run, if he doesn't have the knowledge to help is state. It seems like a plant to me.
When a political party tries to undo an election result
and conspires to undermind the winner of said election,
it sure does smack of marxism.
"Have crazier things happened in SC?"
Ummm...they don't seem to STOP happening.
Big AL here,
I'll sue every one of you racists bigots for denying the primary win. I've got the other AL on my side. He nows how to fite the machine.
Ya know, after the Judicial abomination of an election, which was nothing but legalized election fraud, I am convinced that election fraud in the US is becoming a MAJOR problem!
Why would this be such a surprise with the leadership we now have in Washington? I think he would be right at home
Really?? Alvin Greene is NOT a "joe the plummer" type or is he?
The political mapping in the USA has vastly changed. What use to work in the "good ole days" simply does NOT work in the "Days Gone By" era.
"Simple Things" are the hardest to find. We better know it and get to grips with the roadways of today communications network. Saw a candidate win the Democrat seat in Prince Georges County, Maryland-by just hanging out on a high traffic street corner in the cold of winter with a sign depicting his name. That was ALL it took to win the seat.
"the people of South Carolina deserver to have viable choice when they go to the polls in November,"
Yeah yeah whatever. Deserve shmerve. What the people of SC NEED is Zoloft in the drinking water.
I think there should be a Federal voter fraud investigation, it smell to high heaven.
Ketner Supporters for a Better South Carolina includes and welcomes supporters from both parties, Republican and Democrat, and those who feel no party affiliation whatsoever. We are truly a grass roots and independent movement to get an independent on the SC ballot for U.S. Senate.
Hey Clyburn, stil smelling elephant dung ? Face it, democrats wasn't paying attention. think this is great!
SC politics...never a dull moment that's for sure. I think actually the BEST thing that could happen here would be let Green stay on the ballot and he somehow BEATS DeMint in November. I bet if that were the happen then the GOP would be calling foul and demanding a recount. That is the effort the Dems should be doing instead of pointing fingers and accusing plants by the GOP.
Democrats not only disregard the laws of the land, they disregard their own rules. Read the writing on the wall, Americans have had enough of the extremest left and business as usual in Washington.
This is all so Crazy. And the Beat goes on.
let him stay on the ballot.i bet u he wont even get 5 percent of the vote n november!
Sounds like SC voters will vote for A: anyone who's never been in politics before and, B: anyone with a pulse.
C'mon folks! Is it really smart to field a candidate who's charged with a felony???
Why are they trying to get an african-american off their ballot? Where is the NAACP? Where is Jesse Jackson? Where is Al Sharpton? The democratic party in South Carolina is a bunch of racists!!!
First off, it needs to be determined if this was a legitimate win or not. If it's not, I don't see a problem with what the Dems are doing. If, on the other hand, Mr. Greene's win was legitimate, I think it shows how uncouth the Dems are about the democratic process vs. who they actually want for that office. If it's legitmate, they're basically saying "OK, we know you voted for him cause you think he' s the better candidate, but we're going to run our guy as an independent cause we don't approve of Mr. Greene."
In the long run, I can only see as helping Mr. DeMint win by a landslide by further splintering the Dems voting base.
People in SC so desperate they will vote for any non-incumbent. Wow!
There is already a viable alternative candidate in this race. Tom Clements is the Green Party candidate. Mr. Clements polled in at 9% in the recent Rasmussen poll. There is a choice...thank goodness.
They should really leave this issue alone, there is no way they would ever beat DeMint, even with another candidate.