Latest news with #ThomasRavenel
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former reality TV star Thomas Ravenel's bid for SC governor is over after only 4 days
Former South Carolina Treasurer Thomas Ravenel's bid to become governor lasted four days. Ravenel, who was on the reality TV show Southern Charm from 2014 to 2018, posted on his X account that he was leaving the race for governor, less than a week after posting he was seeking the state's top executive position. 'Being a single father of three young children, I believe this is not the time for me to be running for governor of South Carolina,' Ravenel posted. 'Consequently, I hereby withdraw my intentions to be a gubernatorial candidate in 2026. At this juncture of my life, it is much more important to raise my young family than to run for political office.' Ravenel, served as treasurer for less than a year and resigned after he was charged with cocaine possession with intent to distribute. Ravenel was sentenced to 10 months for the federal drug charge and fined $221,000. He also ran for the U.S. Senate in 2014 as an independent. Ravenel's entry and almost immediate exit from the race, leaves the governors race with no official candidates as no one else has officially announced a campaign.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Thomas Ravenel withdraws bid to be South Carolina governor
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – A former state treasurer and 'Southern Charm' star announced Tuesday he has decided to cancel his gubernatorial bid. Thomas Ravenel said via X that he will not run for South Carolina's governor position in 2026 but instead will focus on his family. Ravenel announced his bid for the state's top seat just a few days earlier on Feb. 6, saying, '…none of the lightweights currently in the race are going to stop me. I have a message that's going to change not just South Carolina but the entire country.' In a new series of posts on Feb. 8, he posted he was rethinking the run, claiming to be under 'eminent attack' by the media and other Republicans. Filing for the South Carolina gubernatorial race opens next year, and other candidates have been tossing around the idea of running for the state's top office. U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, representing the First Congressional District, has been traveling around the state as she mulls her own GOP bid. Attorney General Alan Wilson and Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette are likely contenders in the Republican primary. Ravenel's stint as state treasurer ended in 2007 after being indicted on federal cocaine charges. A judge ordered Ravenel to serve 10 months in prison after he pleaded guilty. He ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate twice – first as a Republican in 2004 and then again in 2014 when he challenged Lindsey Graham as an Independent candidate. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former SC treasurer and reality TV star ends bid for governor, days after announcement
Thomas Ravenel and Rouge Apker attend Miami Beach Polo Event at W South Beach Hotel & Residences on April 26, 2013 in Miami Beach, Florida. (Photo byfor W South Beach Hotel & Residences) COLUMBIA — South Carolina is back to zero official gubernatorial candidates. Four days after announcing his run for governor, Thomas Ravenel — a former reality TV star and state treasurer who quit following a federal cocaine indictment — withdrew from the race. The 62-year-old former 'Southern Charm' star announced his decision just after 5 p.m. on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday, saying that he needs to focus on family. 'Being a single father of three young children, I believe this is not the time for me to be running for Governor of South Carolina. Consequently, I hereby withdraw my intentions to be a gubernatorial candidate in 2026,' he wrote. Ravenel, who lives in Aiken County, has two boys who are 4 1/2 and 9, as well as a daughter who is 10, he told the SC Daily Gazette last week. 'At this juncture of my life, it is much more important to raise my young family than to run for political office,' he said. Ravenel's exit from the 2026 governor's race leaves no official candidates. But that could soon change. U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace has openly said she's considering a run for governor and delivered a bombshell speech on the House floor Monday. The coastal 1st District congresswoman accused four men of 'some of the most heinous crimes against women imaginable.' All four strongly denied the allegations. Former treasurer, reality TV star announces run for SC governor Attorney General Alan Wilson and Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette are also expected to run. State Sen. Josh Kimbrell, R-Spartanburg, has also said he's considering a run. Gov. Henry McMaster, the state's longest-serving elected governor, can't seek another term, creating a wide-open field. Ravenel announced his short-lived campaign at 11:02 p.m. last Thursday in a post on X. 'I'm running for Governor of South Carolina and none of the lightweights currently in the race are going to stop me,' he wrote. 'I have a message that's going to change not just South Carolina but the entire country.' Ravenel is the son of the late state senator and congressman Arthur Ravenel Jr, who was known as 'Cousin Arthur.' Arthur Ravenel died in 2023 at 95. Thomas Ravenel's political career started with an unsuccessful bid for U.S. Senate in 2004 ultimately won by former Sen. Jim DeMint. Only two years later, Ravenel was considered a rising Republican star when he defeated Democrat Grady Patterson, a nine-term incumbent, to become state treasurer. But six months after being sworn in, he was indicted on a federal cocaine charge, resigned, then pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute less than 500 grams of cocaine He completed a 10-month prison sentence in March 2009. He stressed to the Daily Gazette last Friday that he was only sharing cocaine, not distributing. 'If you buy a six pack of beer and share it, are you a beer distributor?' he asked. Ravenel was on the Bravo network reality TV show 'Southern Charm' from 2014-2018, the first five seasons of the show. In 2018, he was accused of sexual assault. He pleaded guilty in 2019 to third-degree assault and battery and paid a $500 fine in lieu of a 30-day sentence, The State reported. Ravenel's last bid for office was more than a decade ago. He challenged U.S. Sen Lindsey Graham in 2014 as a petition candidate after the senator handily beat six GOP primary challengers without needing a runoff. But Ravenel finished third on the November ballot with less than 4% of the vote.
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘My candidacy is under eminent attack': Thomas Ravenel may be rethinking SC gubernatorial run
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – Thomas Ravenel may be rethinking his gubernatorial run. The former state treasurer and 'Southern Charm' star shared on his social media accounts last week that he was planning to run for South Carolina governor. However, in a new series of posts on his X page Saturday, Ravenel said, 'I'm not so sure that I can remain a candidate for Governor' due to the 'need to protect my three kids and my own financial situation.' 'It is because I represent such a threat to the status quo that my candidacy is under eminent attack by not only the media, but by fellow Republicans and those who have a vested interest in big government,' Ravenel said. Filing for the South Carolina gubernatorial race opens next year and other candidates have been tossing around the idea of running for the state's top office. U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, who represents the First Congressional District, has been traveling around the state as she mulls her own GOP bid. Attorney General Alan Wilson and Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette are also considered likely contenders in the Republican primary. Ravenel, in his Feb. 6 post on X, said none of the 'lightweights currently in the race are going to stop me,' and added that he had a message that would 'change not just South Carolina but the entire country.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Southern Charm' reality star announces bid for South Carolina governor
Bravo's 'Southern Charm' reality TV star and former state Treasurer Thomas Ravenel announced his South Carolina gubernatorial bid for 2026. 'I'm running for Governor of South Carolina and none of the lightweights currently in the race are going to stop me,' Ravenel wrote in a Thursday night post on social platform X. 'I have a message that's going to change not just South Carolina but the entire country.' Ravenel served as the state treasurer in 2007, but he resigned after being accused of buying cocaine in a federal indictment. He was sentenced to 10 months in jail after pleading guilty to the charges. He tried to run for Senate twice — the first time in 2004 and the second in 2014 when he attempted to challenge Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) with an independent bid. He told The Hill Friday that he will be running for governor in 2026 as a Republican. This time, he is hoping to succeed the term-limited South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) by focusing his campaign on two issues: the state's education system and job creation. 'We need to, in South Carolina, voucherize the entire system, education system, or allow competition, either through vouchers or through charter schools, which are publicly run, but it allows the charter school to escape all these regulations imposed by the unions in South Carolina,' Ravenel told The Hill in a phone interview Friday. 'Although we don't have teacher's unions down here, but you know, the Legislature will want to comply with national standards, and those standards are set by the unions, so we need to allow schools the freedom to fire bad teachers, or to innovate, or we have to educate our kids,' the ex-Bravo reality TV star said. Ravenel was a cast member of 'Southern Charm,' a reality television series that followed Charleston's dating scene. The show cut ties with the former state treasurer in 2018. Earlier that year, he was arrested in response to allegations he sexually assaulted his nanny. Ravenel pleaded guilty to third-degree assault and battery in 2019. Apart from improving K-12 education, Ravanel said he aims to transform South Carolina into a 'more competitive environment in which to create jobs, in which to induce investment capital into the state' if elected governor. 'You take a look at the neighboring states, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee. Take a look at it, Texas, these places. I mean, trillions of dollars are entering into these states because they have a competitive tax system. We don't,' he told The Hill. The filings for a gubernatorial run are not available until next year, but other South Carolina lawmakers have already expressed their interest in the state's top job. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) is mulling a gubernatorial run herself, her spokesperson confirmed to The Hill. 'I've been in the state Legislature before, I have great relationships in Washington now, and I've acquired the leadership necessary to be bold, to make sure that we are moving forward with conservative policies,' Mace, who has already made some state-level trips, said in an interview last month. 'I have made a difference in the work that I have done up here, and know that I could do even more at the state level.' Ravenel said he will not worry about his competition but strictly focus on how to 'improve the system.' 'I'm just going to push my message, focus on what I can do, and I'm not going to attack any of my opponents, although the tweet sort of implied that I was not very respectful of them. But when I run, it's going to be a focus on how I want to improve the system,' he told The Hill. 'And if I can make this political comeback with substantial numbers, it will give me a mandate to impose the changes I want in our education system and in our tax system as well,' he said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
