Charles D. Ravenel
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Charles Dufort "Pug" Ravenel (February 14, 1938 – March 25, 2017) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party from
South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...
who won the 1974 Democratic gubernatorial primary. Ravenel was the favorite to win the general election until the
South Carolina Supreme Court The South Carolina Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The court is composed of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices.
ruled his candidacy invalid on the grounds that he did not meet the state's residency requirements. The eventual winner of the
election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...
was James B. Edwards, the state's first Republican governor in decades.


Early life

Ravenel was born in Charleston, South Carolina. As a child he attended Cathedral Elementary School and Bishop England High School. Ravenel was given the nickname "Pug" after he ran into a telephone pole at
Moultrie Playground Moultrie Playground is a public park in Charleston, South Carolina. History Moultrie Playground is on a section of mud flat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in inte ...
. He worked as a newspaper courier for ''
The News and Courier ''The Post and Courier'' is the main daily newspaper in Charleston, South Carolina. It traces its ancestry to three newspapers, the ''Charleston Courier'', founded in 1803, the ''Charleston Daily News'', founded 1865, and ''The Evening Post'', f ...
'' which helped him attend the Phillips Exeter Academy. At Phillips Exeter and
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
, Ravenel played football as a
quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
. In 1961, he graduated from Harvard. Ravenel earned a
Master's of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accoun ...
(MBA) from Harvard Business School in 1964. He worked for on Wall Street for the firm
Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (DLJ) was a U.S. investment bank founded by William H. Donaldson, Richard Jenrette, and Dan Lufkin in 1959. Its businesses included securities underwriting; sales and trading; investment and merchant banking; fina ...
, and served as a
White House Fellow The White House Fellows program is a federal fellowship program established via Executive Order by President of the United States Lyndon B. Johnson in October 1964, based upon a suggestion from John W. Gardner, then the president of Carnegie Corp ...
under President Lyndon B. Johnson. In 1967, he co-founded the New York Academy for Black and Latin Education (ABLE) with his friend Michael Bloomberg.


Political career

In 1972, Ravenel moved back to South Carolina after working on Wall Street.


1974 gubernatorial election

Ravenel's 1974 election platform to become governor of South Carolina, the “Program for Excellence in South Carolina," promised hope and change. His campaign was characterized as positive. He won a crowded Democratic gubernatorial primary and looked like a formidable general election candidate. But the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled that Ravenel failed to meet the five-year residency requirement in the
Constitution of South Carolina The Constitution of the State of South Carolina is the governing document of the U.S. state of South Carolina. It describes the structure and function of the state's government. The current constitution took effect on December 4, 1895. South Caro ...
. During the trial, Ravenel's decision to accept resident memberships instead of nonresident memberships at two separate clubs in
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
within the preceding five years was used against him. Ravenel was replaced as the Democratic nominee by the runner-up in the primary, Congressman
William Jennings Bryan Dorn William Jennings Bryan Dorn (April 14, 1916 – August 13, 2005) was a United States politician from South Carolina who represented the western part of the state in the United States House of Representatives from 1947 to 1949 and from 1951 to 197 ...
.


1978 U.S. Senate election

Ravenel was the Democratic nominee in the
1978 United States Senate election in South Carolina The 1978 South Carolina United States Senate election was held on November 7, 1978 to select the U.S. Senator from the state of South Carolina. Popular incumbent Republican Senator Strom Thurmond defeated Democratic challenger Charles D. Rav ...
, but failed to unseat incumbent Senator Strom Thurmond.


1980 U.S. House election

In 1980, Ravenel was the Democratic nominee to represent
South Carolina's 1st congressional district The 1st congressional district of South Carolina is a coastal congressional district in South Carolina, represented by Republican Nancy Mace since January 3, 2021. She succeeded Democrat Joe Cunningham, having defeated him in the 2020 elect ...
in the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
, but lost to Republican Thomas F. Hartnett. Ravenel's cousin Arthur Ravenel Jr. later became the district's representative.


Later life

After the end of his political career, Ravenel became associated with Charleston Trees, an organization that plants trees in Charleston. His focus was the beautification of East Bay Street on the Charleston peninsula. In 1995, Ravenel pleaded guilty to bank fraud conspiracy for his involvement with the failure of Citadel Federal Savings Bank. He served his full sentence of 11 months and 17 days. Ravenel was pardoned by President
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
on January 20, 2001, Clinton's last day in office.


References


External links


Charles D. Ravenel Papers
at South Carolina Political Collections, University of South Carolina {{DEFAULTSORT:Ravenel, Charles D. 1938 births 2017 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American politicians American white-collar criminals American bankers Businesspeople from Charleston, South Carolina Harvard Business School alumni Harvard University alumni Phillips Exeter Academy alumni Recipients of American presidential pardons South Carolina Democrats