Alvin Greene
Alvin Greene started 2010 as an unemployed veteran in South Carolina who had been arrested for allegedly exposing a young woman to online porn. But that didn't keep the 32-year-old political unknown from entering the state's Democratic Senate primary and winning it, despite the fact that he did almost no campaigning. Greene did, however, make headlines with memorable comments on issues like unemployment. "Another thing we can do for jobs is make toys of me, especially for the holidays," Greene told the Guardian in July. "Little dolls. Me. Like maybe little action dolls." Although the Charleston RiverDogs fulfilled his action-figure wishes, Greene was far from a superhero on election night: he was trounced by GOP incumbent Jim DeMint. But Greene did manage to get a surprising 28% of the vote and is now mulling a 2012 presidential run.