Just days after announcing his candidacy, the former state treasurer says he is stepping away from politics
CHARLESTON, S.C. โ Former South Carolina State Treasurer Thomas Ravenel has reversed course on a potential political comeback, announcing that he will not run for governor in 2026 after previously declaring his candidacy just last week.
Ravenel, 62, made the announcement on social media Tuesday night, citing his responsibilities as a single father of three young children as the primary reason for stepping away from the race.
โItโs more important to raise my family than to seek political office,โ Ravenel wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.ย
No one else has formally announced a run for the governorship, although U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace told reporters recently she’s considering a bid. The current governor, Henry McMaster, can’t run again due to term limits in the state.ย
Ravenel, a Republican, last held public office in 2007 before resigning as state treasurer just months into his term after pleading guilty to federal drug charges. Previously, he’d run unsuccessfully for the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate in 2004, and in 2014, ran as an independent for that office.ย
He later gained national attention as a cast member on the reality TV series “Southern Charm,” a Bravo channel show chronicling the occasionally scandalous lives of well-to-do Charleston residents.ย
Ravenel is the scion of a prominent family in the Lowcountry of South Carolina that traces its roots back for generations. His father, Arthur Ravenel Jr., was a longtime state legislator and U.S. Representative from Charleston. The Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, the large structure connecting downtown Charleston to Mt. Pleasant over the Cooper River, is named in his honor.ย
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