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Thomas Jonathan Jackson Ravenel is an American politician and reality television star. He is the son of former representative Arthur Ravenel Jr. from South Carolina. He starred for five seasons on the
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reality-television series ''
Southern Charm ''Southern Charm'' is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on March 3, 2014. The series chronicles the personal and professional lives of several socialites who reside in Charleston, South Carolina. The show focuses on t ...
,'' was state treasurer for six months, was an
Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
candidate for the
United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
in the 2014 election in South Carolina, and a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in the 2004 primary election. He is also a member of the French Huguenot Church in Charleston.


Background

Prior to running for office, Ravenel founded the Ravenel Development Corporation, a commercial real estate company. Ravenel ran for the
U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...
in 2004, seeking the seat left open when
Fritz Hollings Ernest Frederick "Fritz" Hollings (January 1, 1922April 6, 2019) was an American politician from the U.S. state of South Carolina. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as a member of the South Carolina Ho ...
retired. He came in third in the Republican
primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...
. After Ravenel endorsed Republican
Jim DeMint James Warren DeMint (born September 2, 1951) is an American businessman, author, and retired politician who served as a United States Senate, United States Senator from South Carolina and as president of The Heritage Foundation. A leading figure ...
, DeMint went on to win the Republican runoff and the general election. Subsequently, Ravenel was fined over $19,000 by the
Federal Election Commission The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent agency of the United States government that enforces U.S. campaign finance laws and oversees U.S. federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Campaign ...
for improperly filing the required forms for the election. Ravenel ran for South Carolina Treasurer in 2006, defeating nine-term state treasurer Democrat Grady Patterson in the 2006 general election. Ravenel endorsed
Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977, and again from 1979 to 1985, as well as for Texas' ...
in the 2012 Republican primaries. Ravenel was previously in the cast of
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’s ''
Southern Charm ''Southern Charm'' is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on March 3, 2014. The series chronicles the personal and professional lives of several socialites who reside in Charleston, South Carolina. The show focuses on t ...
''. He lived at Brookland Plantation, an estate he purchased in 2006, until he sold it in 2021.


Education

Ravenel graduated from
The Citadel The Citadel Military College of South Carolina (simply known as The Citadel) is a public senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Established in 1842, it is the third oldest of the six senior military colleges ...
in Charleston, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (B.S.B.A.) in 1985. He later received an M.B.A. from the
University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...
in 1991. His M.B.A. studies were focused on finance and real estate.


Federal drug charges

In June 2007, Ravenel was indicted on federal
cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...
distribution charges by
US Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...
Reginald Lloyd. The filed charges allege that Ravenel purchased less than 500 grams of cocaine through an intermediary in
Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...
, in 2005, prior to his election as treasurer but after his abortive entry in the 2004 Senate race. Governor
Mark Sanford Marshall Clement "Mark" Sanford Jr. (born May 28, 1960) is an American politician and author who served as the U.S. representative for South Carolina's 1st congressional district from 1995 to 2001 and from 2013 to 2019, and as the 115th govern ...
suspended Ravenel from his duties as state treasurer upon learning of the charges, and appointed Columbia attorney Ken Wingate to replace Ravenel on an interim basis. Meanwhile, Ravenel decided to enter a rehabilitation facility, according to prosecutors. Ravenel had also been volunteering for the
Rudolph Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani ( , ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and disbarred lawyer who served as the 107th mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General fr ...
presidential campaign, serving as his South Carolina state chairman. Ravenel resigned from that post after the indictment, according to Giuliani campaign officials. The campaign subsequently replaced Ravenel with Barry Winn, who was co-chair of South Carolina finance committee. On July 24, 2007 Ravenel resigned as Treasurer. The
South Carolina General Assembly The South Carolina General Assembly, also called the South Carolina Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of South Carolina. The legislature is bicameral and consists of the lower South Carolina House of Representatives and ...
elected state Rep. Converse Chellis to serve out the remainder of his term. Ravenel underwent a rehabilitation program in
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
, and then returned to plead guilty to "conspiring to buy and distribute less than 100 grams of cocaine" in September 2007.


Sentencing

On Friday, March 4, 2008, Thomas Ravenel was sentenced to 10 months in federal prison for drug charges against him, but was not immediately ordered to report to begin his sentence.


2014 campaign for U.S. Senate

On Monday, July 14, 2014, Thomas Ravenel submitted more than 17,000 signatures, officially placing him on the ballot as an independent candidate against incumbent senator
Lindsey Graham Lindsey Olin Graham (; born July 9, 1955) is an American politician and attorney serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from South Carolina, a seat he has held since 2003. A membe ...
. He finished in third place, garnering 3.9% of the vote.


2026 gubernatorial campaign

On February 7, 2025, Ravenel announced on X that he would run for
governor of South Carolina The governor of South Carolina is the head of government of South Carolina. The governor is the ''ex officio'' commander-in-chief of the National Guard when not called into federal service. The governor's responsibilities include making year ...
in 2026, seeking to succeed term-limited governor
Henry McMaster Henry Dargan McMaster (born May 27, 1947) is an American politician and attorney serving since 2017 as the 117th governor of South Carolina. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he was the 50th List of Attorneys Ge ...
. He later told '' The Hill'' that he would run as a Republican in the election. Ravenel suspended his campaign four days after announcing his candidacy, saying that he needed to focus on his family.


Personal life

Ravenel and his ex-girlfriend, Kathryn Calhoun Dennis, have two children, a girl and a boy. His third child, a son, was born in 2020, with an ex-girlfriend.


Assault and battery allegations

In April 2018, Ashley Perkins, a Florida-based real estate agent, claimed that Ravenel sexually battered her mother, Debbie Holloway Perkins, after meeting him on the dating app
Tinder Tinder is easily Combustibility and flammability, combustible material used to Firemaking, start a fire. Tinder is a finely divided, open material which will begin to glow under a shower of sparks. Air is gently wafted over the glowing tinder unt ...
in December 2015. Perkins claims her mother later told her that Ravenel "stuck his penis in her face" and held her arms back while sticking his fingers inside her vagina and anus. Perkins said she did not witness the battery, but that her mother seemed "very withdrawn" and finally confided in her. According to Perkins, her mother is unable to publicly discuss the case due to a non-disclosure agreement negotiated by attorney Gloria Allred as part of an alleged $200,000 settlement with Ravenel. However, Perkins, who claims to be a witness to the mediation process between her mother and Ravenel, was not bound to such an agreement and therefore able to publicly disclose the details of the case. Richard P. Terbrusch, Ravenel's attorney, denied Perkins' allegations, stating that his "client enjoys a certain degree of fame and unfortunately has become—unfairly—a target for an individual who has, in my opinion, dubious motivations." Bravo and ''
Southern Charm ''Southern Charm'' is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on March 3, 2014. The series chronicles the personal and professional lives of several socialites who reside in Charleston, South Carolina. The show focuses on t ...
'' production company, Haymaker, announced on May 4, 2018, that it was taking the "allegations very seriously" and launching its own investigation into their validity. In May 2018, a second accuser—Dawn Ledwell, former nanny of Ravenel's children—came forward (Dawn admitted in court filings that Kathryn Dennis pushed Dawn to come forward) with new allegations of sexual battery against Ravenel. "Nanny Dawn" (as she was known to ''Southern Charm''s viewers), and close friend of Kathryn Dennis, claims that in January 2015, Ravenel assaulted her after a night out with his friends: "I went upstairs to get my jacket which had the key to my vehicle in the pocket. I was corralled into the master bedroom, and he shut the door behind me. I turned around, and he had his pants dropped, not wearing underwear," she said. "He was blocking the door. I was mortified, embarrassed, and scared." Charleston police opened an investigation into the alleged assault after the nanny filed an incident report in early May. In September 2018, Ashley Perkins published on her official website that Ledwell had first contacted her that spring, prior to going to the police. At that time, Ledwell shared with Perkins "very intimate details of her life and events with Thomas". By May, however, Perkins said she had "serious doubts" about Ledwell's accusations, stating that Ledwell's police report and public accounts of "forcible rape" differed from what Ledwell had told her privately. As a result, Perkins cut off her relationship with Ledwell, but "wishes her the best.". In February 2019, Dawn Ledwell amended her original summons and complaint through the courts where the sexual contact is no longer listed. On September 11, 2019, Ravenel pled guilty to third-degree assault and battery in connection with an attack on Ledwell. He paid a $500 fine, but served no jail time. He also settled a civil suit with Ledwell, agreeing to donate $80,000 in her name to a charity for sexual assault survivors in lieu of paying her damages.


References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ravenel, Thomas 1962 births 21st-century South Carolina politicians American drug traffickers American socialites Businesspeople from Charleston, South Carolina Candidates in the 2014 United States elections Living people Participants in American reality television series Politicians from Charleston, South Carolina Ravenel family South Carolina independents South Carolina politicians convicted of crimes South Carolina Republicans State treasurers of South Carolina The Citadel Bulldogs wrestlers University of South Carolina alumni