Three of the four challenges to Alvin Greene’s puzzling nomination to face Jim DeMint in the US Senate race in South Carolina were beaten back Thursday, but South Carolina Democrats have a new option – run a Dem-leaning independent candidate.

Jimm Phillips reports that the state Democratic Party rejected the formal election protest yesterday from Vic Rawl, the former state legislator who Greene defeated 59-41. Earlier in the day, two other challenges were foiled: state Attorney General Henry McMaster declined to investigate the election outcome, and the state election commission did the same, upholding the Greene victory. Electoral experts and the Vic Rawl campaign had both identified irregularities with the vote count on South Carolina’s electronic voting machines.

There is still a Federal Election Commission complaint and a possible state police investigation on how Greene paid his filing fee, but it’s highly unlikely that either will lead to much, certainly not taking down the victory. Greene has vowed to stay in the race, though it’s unclear whether that means he’ll do any campaigning.

Meanwhile, some South Carolina Democrats have considered a second option – drafting Linda Ketner, who ran for a House seat in 2008, to run as an independent.

Former staffers for South Carolina Democrat Linda Ketner, who narrowly lost a 2008 bid against Republican Rep. Henry Brown, are mounting an effort to place her name on this year’s Senate ballot as an independent candidate against Sen. Jim DeMint.

Following unemployed veteran Alvin Greene’s surprise victory in last week’s Democratic primary, Ketner supporters say DeMint opponents need a more credible choice for the fall campaign [...]

Warner, who served as Ketner’s finance director in 2008, and Tasha Gandy, her former treasurer, have begun an effort to collect the 10,000 signatures needed to file for the Senate campaign by July 15.

Ketner, a grocery chain heiress who spent more than $1 million out of pocket on her race against Brown, has not yet committed to the effort, Warner said.

Ketner, an open lesbian who almost defeated Henry Brown in ’08, doesn’t seem to have yet made any commitment to this effort. So it could be wishful thinking on the part of some staffers. If she were to run and win, I believe she would become the first openly gay member of the US Senate in history. But we’re getting way ahead of ourselves.