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 by Aaron Davidson/Getty Images for 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.