Benjamin Frasier Jr. (born c. 1942) is a

perennial candidate A perennial candidate is a political candidate who frequently runs for elected office and rarely, if ever, wins. Perennial candidates' existence lies in the fact that in some countries, there are no laws that limit a number of times a person can ...

for political office in

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, having run for Congress over fifteen times since 1972. Weigel, David (5 April 2013)
The Alvin Greene Scam: It Lives!
''

Slate (magazine) ''Slate'' is an online magazine that covers current affairs, politics, and culture in the United States. It was created in 1996 by former '' New Republic'' editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. In ...

'' He actually became the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

nominee for the November 2010 election, "surpris ngobservers" by beating retired Air Force Reserve Colonel Robert Burton in

South Carolina's 1st congressional district The 1st congressional district of South Carolina is a coastal congressional district in South Carolina, represented by Republican Nancy Mace since January 3, 2021. She succeeded Democrat Joe Cunningham, having defeated him in the 2020 elect ...

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, who died in office in December 1970. An incomplete list of Frasier's political campaigns include: *1972: Applied to run as a Democrat for

for the first time, against incumbent

Mendel Jackson Davis Mendel Jackson Davis (October 23, 1942 – May 13, 2007) was an attorney and a United States Representative from South Carolina. Early life and career Mendel Jackson Davis was born in North Charleston to Felix Charles Davis and Elizabeth Ja ...

, who had succeeded Rivers after winning a special election in April 1971.Aide To River Elected
''

St. Petersburg Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...

'' 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 ''The Post and Courier'' is the main daily newspaper in Charleston, South Carolina. It traces its ancestry to three newspapers, the ''Charleston Courier'', founded in 1803, the ''Charleston Daily News'', founded 1865, and ''The Evening Post'', f ...

'' but later admitted the story was a hoax.(31 August 1972)
Candidate Pulled Hoax, Police Say
''

The Dispatch (Lexington) ''The Dispatch'' is an American, English language daily newspaper published in Lexington, North Carolina. The newspaper is published Tuesday through Saturday with no Sunday or Monday editions. History ''The Dispatch'' began publication in 1902, ...

''King, Stewart R. (30 August 1972)
Frasier Remains Missing As Voters Go To Polls
''

''King, Stewart R. (31 August 1972)
Frasier Admits Kidnapping Story Was Hoax
''

'' *1974: Ran in general election against Davis, as a candidate for the

United Citizens Party The United Citizens Party (UCP) was first organized in 1969 in the U.S. state of South Carolina in response to the state Democratic Party's opposition to nominating black candidates. The party's objective was to elect blacks to the legislature a ...

, 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
''

'' *1978: Davis defeated Frasier in Democratic primary.Glass, Mary A. (23 October 1978)
1st District Congress Race Offers Lots of Surprises
''

'' *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, and placed fourth with 6.8% of the vote. *1982: Easily defeated in

Democratic primary This is a list of Democratic Party presidential primaries. 1912 This was the first time that candidates were chosen through primaries. New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson ran to become the nominee, and faced the opposition of Speaker of the Uni ...

by W. Mullins McLeod.(23 June 1982)
Frontrunners Win Runoffs in 1st and 2nd Districts
''

The Item ''The Item'', formerly known as ''The Sumter Daily Item'' and ''The Daily Item'', is an independent, morning newspaper published in Sumter, South Carolina five days a week, Tuesday to Friday with a "Weekend Edition" delivered on Saturday morning ...

'' *1984: Did not run for office.(4 May 1986)
Democrats get biggest 11th hour surprises
''

'' *1986: Lost Democratic primary for 1st district seat, coming in third place with 10% of the vote.(11 June 1986)
Stuckey, Davis In Runoff
''

'' *1994: Lost Democratic primary election to incumbent

Jim Clyburn James Enos Clyburn (born July 21, 1940) is an American politician and retired educator serving as a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina. He has served as House Majority Whip since 2019. He is a two-time m ...

in 6th district. Clyburn got 86% of the vote.(10 August 1994)
Runoffs give uncertain voters second chance to decide
''

'' *1996: Again lost Democratic primary election to incumbent

in 6th district.Clyburn, McLeod easily win District 6 primaries
''

'' *2002: Again lost Democratic primary election to incumbent Jim Clyburn in 6th district.(12 June 2002)
Clyburn gets nod easily
''

'' *2004: Lost Democratic primary election for

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

seat to

Inez Tenenbaum Inez Moore Tenenbaum (born March 8, 1951) is an American lawyer and politician who served as South Carolina Superintendent of Education and as Chair of the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission. In 2016 she joined a law firm. She is a ...

. *2006: Led Democratic primary field for the 1st congressional district seat with 47% of the vote, but lost in the subsequent primary

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock marke ...

election to Randy Maatta.(28 June 2006)
In primary reversal, Maatta bests Frasier in congressional race
''

'' *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 Timothy Eugene Scott (born September 19, 1965) is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior United States senator from South Carolina since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Scott was appointed to the U.S. Senate by Go ...

in the general election. *2013: Lost Democratic primary for South Carolina's 1st congressional district special election, 2013, necessitated by Scott's appointment to the U.S. Senate, to Elizabeth Colbert Busch, obtaining only 4.1% of the vote (to 95.86% for the winner). Shortly thereafter, Mr. Frasier endorsed

Mark Sanford Marshall Clement "Mark" Sanford Jr. (born May 28, 1960) is an American politician and author who served as the U.S. Representative for South Carolina's 1st congressional district from 1995 to 2001 and again from 2013 to 2019, and also as the ...

, 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, 2008Behre, Robert (29 May 2008)
Veteran candidate, newcomer vie in 1st District
''

The Post and Courier ''The Post and Courier'' is the main daily newspaper in Charleston, South Carolina. It traces its ancestry to three newspapers, the ''Charleston Courier'', founded in 1803, the ''Charleston Daily News'', founded 1865, and ''The Evening Post'', f ...

'' 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 Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. The Charleston County Board of Elections 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 James Enos Clyburn (born July 21, 1940) is an American politician and retired educator serving as a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina. He has served as House Majority Whip since 2019. He is a two-time ma ...

accused Frasier and South Carolina U.S Senate candidate Alvin Greene of being Republican plants. The group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a complaint with the

Federal Election Commission The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent regulatory agency of the United States whose purpose is to enforce campaign finance law in United States federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Cam ...

(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 (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