Benjamin Frasier Jr. (born c. 1942) is a
perennial candidate for political office in
South Carolina, having run for Congress over fifteen times since 1972.
[ Weigel, David (5 April 2013)]
The Alvin Greene Scam: It Lives!
'' Slate (magazine)'' He actually became the
Democratic Party nominee for the November 2010 election, "surpris
ngobservers" by beating retired Air Force Reserve Colonel Robert Burton in
South Carolina's 1st congressional district Democratic Party primary, with 56 percent of the vote to Burton's 44 percent.
Political career
Frasier was an aide to Congressman
L. Mendel Rivers
Lucius Mendel Rivers (September 28, 1905 – December 28, 1970) was a Democratic U.S. Representative from South Carolina, representing the Charleston-based 1st congressional district for nearly 30 years. He was chairman of the House Armed Se ...
, who died in office in December 1970.
[
An incomplete list of Frasier's political campaigns include:
*1972: Applied to run as a Democrat for South Carolina's 1st congressional district for the first time, against incumbent Mendel Jackson Davis, who had succeeded Rivers after winning a special election in April 1971.][Aide To River Elected](_blank)
'' St. Petersburg Times'' In the primary election, Frasier did no campaigning, and lost the primary to Davis. Frasier claimed he had been "kidnapped" by the "Davis machine" shortly before the primary,[(16 April 1976)]
Mendel David Is Oppsed
'' News and Courier'' but later admitted the story was a hoax.[(31 August 1972)]
Candidate Pulled Hoax, Police Say
'' The Dispatch (Lexington)''[King, Stewart R. (30 August 1972)]
Frasier Remains Missing As Voters Go To Polls
'' News and Courier''[King, Stewart R. (31 August 1972)]
Frasier Admits Kidnapping Story Was Hoax
'' News and Courier''
*1974: Ran in general election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
against Davis, as a candidate for the United Citizens Party, and lost, getting 0.6% of the vote.
*1976: Applied to be a Democratic primary candidate against Davis again, but was excluded for failure to pay the filing fee on time.[(20 April 1976)]
Frasier Won't Oppose Davis
'' News and Courier''
*1978: Davis defeated Frasier in Democratic primary.[Glass, Mary A. (23 October 1978)]
1st District Congress Race Offers Lots of Surprises
'' News and Courier''
*1980: Davis decided not to run for another term, and Frasier again sought the Democratic nomination to the 1st District. He lost the primary to Charles D. Ravenel
Charles Dufort "Pug" Ravenel (February 14, 1938 – March 25, 2017) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party from South Carolina who won the 1974 Democratic gubernatorial primary. Ravenel was the favorite to win the genera ...
, and placed fourth with 6.8% of the vote.
*1982: Easily defeated in Democratic primary by W. Mullins McLeod.[(23 June 1982)]
Frontrunners Win Runoffs in 1st and 2nd Districts
'' The Item''
*1984: Did not run for office.[(4 May 1986)]
Democrats get biggest 11th hour surprises
'' News and Courier''
*1986: Lost Democratic primary for 1st district seat, coming in third place with 10% of the vote.[(11 June 1986)]
Stuckey, Davis In Runoff
'' News and Courier''
*1994: Lost Democratic primary election to incumbent Jim Clyburn in 6th district. Clyburn got 86% of the vote.[(10 August 1994)]
Runoffs give uncertain voters second chance to decide
'' The Item''
*1996: Again lost Democratic primary election to incumbent Jim Clyburn in 6th district.[Clyburn, McLeod easily win District 6 primaries](_blank)
'' The Item''
*2002: Again lost Democratic primary election to incumbent Jim Clyburn in 6th district.[(12 June 2002)]
Clyburn gets nod easily
'' The Item''
*2004: Lost Democratic primary election for U.S. Senate seat to Inez Tenenbaum.
*2006: Led Democratic primary field for the 1st congressional district seat with 47% of the vote, but lost in the subsequent primary runoff election to Randy Maatta.[(28 June 2006)]
In primary reversal, Maatta bests Frasier in congressional race
'' The Item''
*2008: Lost Democratic primary for South Carolina's 1st congressional district to Linda Ketner
*2010: Won first-ever nomination, defeating retired Air Force Reserve Colonel Robert Burton in the Democratic 1st congressional district primary, but was defeated by Republican nominee Tim Scott in the general election.
*2013: Lost Democratic primary for , necessitated by Scott's appointment to the U.S. Senate, to Elizabeth Colbert Busch
Elizabeth Colbert Busch (born December 10, 1954) is an American economist and politician who is the Director of Business Development at Clemson University's Restoration Institute, and was the Democratic Party nominee for the 2013 special election ...
, obtaining only 4.1% of the vote (to 95.86% for the winner). Shortly thereafter, Mr. Frasier endorsed Mark Sanford, the Republican candidate in the race.
Political positions
In a 2008 election contest against Linda Ketner, Frasier said education and energy are his highest priorities. He supported expanded use of nuclear energy, ethanol and offshore drilling. He said the Federal Government could spend more on education, "but most of the responsibility is the state's." He lost to Ketner in the Democratic primary.[Will Moredoc]
Perennial candidate appears to play both ends Gaming the System April 23, 2008[Behre, Robert (29 May 2008)]
Veteran candidate, newcomer vie in 1st District
'' The Post and Courier''
Frasier appears to hold many views more common to Republicans than Democrats. In his 2004 Senate campaign, his advertising stated that his positions included: pro-life except if mother's life was in danger, "pro keeping God in the Pledge," for prayer in public schools, and supported "the Right for Citizens to Own Guns NRA-Member."[(7 June 2007)]
Ben Frasier Ad
''Herald-Journal''
Election disputes
During the 2008 election his eligibility for office was questioned as he was accused of being a resident of Maryland. The Charleston County Board of Elections
Charleston most commonly refers to:
* Charleston, South Carolina
* Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital
* Charleston (dance)
Charleston may also refer to:
Places Australia
* Charleston, South Australia
Canada
* Charleston, Newfoundl ...
upheld his legitimacy in a unanimous decision.[
His frequent candidacies have been criticized as having "forced more serious and more electable candidates to face him in primaries" and for having "forced the party to pay for those primaries, yet he has never campaigned seriously, let alone been victorious in one of those primaries," ][ a statement which was true at the time it was made.
In 2010, James Clyburn accused Frasier and South Carolina U.S Senate candidate ]Alvin Greene
Alvin Michael Greene (born August 30, 1977) is an American political candidate from the state of South Carolina. He was the Democratic Party's nominee in the 2010 United States Senate election in South Carolina, and was defeated by incumbent Re ...
of being Republican plants. The group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging that primary-winner Frasier, Greene, and two other candidates in the June 8, 2010 Democratic primary in South Carolina (Gregory Brown and Brian Doyle) violated the Federal Election Campaign Act
The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA, , ''et seq.'') is the primary United States federal law regulating political campaign fundraising and spending. The law originally focused on creating limits for campaign spending on communicatio ...
(FECA) and FEC regulations by failing to file mandatory disclosure reports prior to the 2010 South Carolina primary election.CREW Asks South Carolina AG to Investigate Whether Alvin Greene Was Induced to Run and Files Complaint with FEC
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) On Tuesday June 15, 2010
References
External links
*
Federal Election Commission website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frasier, Ben
Living people
South Carolina Democrats
1942 births
African-American people in South Carolina politics
21st-century African-American politicians
20th-century African-American politicians
Howard University alumni