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 has its first official candidate for governor. And the name should be familiar to many in the Palmetto State.
Thomas Ravenel, a former reality TV star and state treasurer who quit following a federal cocaine indictment, announced his plan to run for governor on X late Thursday.
“I’m running for Governor of South Carolina and none of the lightweights currently in the race are going to stop me,” he said in the post sent out at 11:02 p.m. “I have a message that’s going to change not just South Carolina but the entire country.”
Ravenel, 62, did not respond to a request for comment left on his office phone.
He teased his announcement in post last week that criticized the leadership at the top.
“I’m thinking about getting back into politics. We’ve had terrible leadership at the governor’s position,” he posted Feb. 1. “We’re one of the least competitive states in the southeast based on our extremely high counterproductive income tax rates. Also, we tax cars and boats and boat motors and the costs to extract these taxes barely cover the revenue received.”
He concluded the post by saying, “Poor leadership!!!”
Property taxes are levied and collected by counties, not the state, to fund local government services and public schools. And South Carolina’s effective tax rates — what tax filers actually pay after deductions and exemptions — is among the nation’s lowest for states with an income tax.
Ravenel, 62, is the son of the late state senator and congressman Arthur Ravenel Jr., namesake of the bridge connecting the Charleston peninsula to Mount Pleasant.
Thomas Ravenel was seen as a rising Republican star when he defeated longtime Democratic state Treasurer Grady Patterson in November 2006.
But his star came crashing down in July 2007, when he resigned amid a federal cocaine charge and pleaded guilty to possession two months later. He completed a 10-month prison sentence in March 2009.
Ravenel was also on the first five seasons of the reality TV show “Southern Charm.” He left the show after the fifth season but made a surprise appearance in the premiere of the seventh season.
This isn’t Ravenel’s first attempt at a return to politics.
In 2014, he announced he would challenge Sen. Lindsey Graham as an independent. He finished third, receiving less than 4% of the vote.
While no one else has announced a run to replace Gov. Henry McMaster, who can’t seek a third full term, the race has already heated up.
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace is traveling the state as she’s contemplating a run at the Governor’s Mansion, already bashing Attorney General Alan Wilson and Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, who are expected to run.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.