S.C. Dems ask Senate nominee to withdraw after felony report

Less than 24 hours after Alvin Greene’s surprise win in the South Carolina Democratic Senate primary, the state party has asked him to withdraw from the race because of a pending felony charge.

"Today I spoke with Alvin Greene, the presumptive Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate, and asked him to withdraw from the race," Carol Fowler, chairwoman of the South Carolina Democratic Party, said in a statement.

The Associated Press reported Wednesday that Greene is facing felony charges for displaying pornographic pictures to a University of South Carolina student.

Fowler said she didn't take her decision "lightly."

"I believe strongly that the Democratic voters of this state have the right to select our nominee," she said. "But this new information about Mr. Greene has would certainly have affected the decisions of many of those voters."

The party said as of Wednesday afternoon they had not received a response from Greene.

The candidate could not be reached for comment. He declined to comment on the charges to the AP.

Greene posted bond after his arrest in November for showing obscene Internet photos to the young woman, according to the report. Though Greene has yet to enter a plea or be indicted, if convicted, he could be imprisoned for up to five years.

In an earlier interview with the Ballot Box, Greene declined to comment about his pending charges, but admitted he was surprised with the results of Tuesday's vote. At the time of the interview, the party had not called for his resignation.

He said his chances against Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) were good because "this is a dire time in South Carolina and the U.S."

Greene stunned observers Tuesday when he won the nomination. He raised no money and put up no campaign website but beat former four-term state lawmaker Vic Rawl 59 percent to 41 percent.

— This post was updated at 5:02 p.m.