7 hours ago
71
Thomas Ravenel of Southern Charm fame has announced that he plans to run for governor of South Carolina.
The 62-year-old former reality television star took to X on Thursday to share his gubernatorial goal with his 86,000 followers.
'I’m running for Governor of South Carolina and 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,' he wrote on the app.
Ravenel was formerly South Carolina state treasurer and appeared on the first five seasons of the Bravo TV series.
Throughout his political career in the last 20 years, Thomas has faced several run-ins with the law.
In 2004 he ran for a seat in the U.S. Senate in 2004, and was fined nearly $20,000 by the Federal Election Commission when he failed to log his personal campaign spending by the deadline, per a WIS News 10 report.
Thomas Ravenel of Southern Charm fame has announced that he plans to run for governor of South Carolina; pictured in 2017
After being elected state treasurer in 2006, he resigned five months into the role following federal cocaine charges.
He completing a 30-day rehab stint in Arizona, and pleaded guilty to 'conspiring to buy and distribute less than 100 grams of cocaine' and was sentenced to 10 months in prison, according to People.
In 2014, Ravenel made an effort to run for a Senate seat again, facing off against Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.
He was defeated by the longtime senator, earning less than four percent of the vote.
Also in 2014, he was accused of assaulting Lauren Moser at his Charleston residence, although he was not formally charged, per Charleston City Paper.
Ravenel was fined $500 in 2019 after taking a plea deal to charges he assaulted former nanny Dawn Ledwell.
He was initially charged with misdemeanor second-degree assault and battery after Ledwell said he dropped his pants and fondled her at his Charleston home in January 2015.
Ravenel was formerly South Carolina state treasurer and appeared on the first five seasons of the Bravo TV series
The 62-year-old former reality television star took to X on Thursday to share his gubernatorial goal with his 86,000 followers
He pleaded guilty to third-degree assault and battery and was sentenced to 30 days in jail, but the sentence was suspended once he paid the fine.
It's the same amount, Ledwell claimed in an affidavit, Ravenel offered to pay a driver to wipe cocaine off him before he visited his newborn in the hospital in November 2015.
He also donated $80,000 to a nonprofit organization called People Against Rape, took care of the nanny's $45,000 in legal fees.
Bravo removed Ravenel from the Southern Charm series after his arrest.
English (US) ·