Daniel Rickenmann (born 1969/1970) is an American businessman and politician, serving as the 71st Mayor of

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...

Early life and education

Born in

Spartanburg, South Carolina Spartanburg is a city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city had a population of 38,732 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in South Carolina, 11th ...

, Rickenmann is the son of immigrants from

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. He attended 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 1987.

Political career

2025 Mayoral election

In March 2025, Mayor Rickenmann announced his bid for re-election.

2021 Mayoral election

After confirmation on February 2021 that incumbent Mayor Stephen K. Benjamin would not seek re-election, Rickenmann announced his bid for the office. Other candidates were At-Large Columbia City Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine, attorney Sam Johnson, and former Columbia City Councilman Moe Baddourah. On November 16,

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

, Rickenmann won the runoff election against Isaac Devine with 52% to 48% of the vote. He was sworn in as mayor of Columbia on January 4, 2022. Rickenmann ranked Number 2 in the

Post 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 ...

Columbia Power List 2023 and 2024. While candidates for the office of mayor in Columbia, South Carolina are officially non-partisan, Rickenmann is a Republican. Conversely, his opponent in the 2021 election, Tameika Isaac Devine, is a Democrat. Devine was endorsed by former U.S. president

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

and House Whip

Jim Clyburn James Enos Clyburn (born July 21, 1940) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for . First elected in 1992, Clyburn is in his 17th term, representing a congressional district that includes most of the majority-black precinc ...

. Previously, Columbia has historically voted for Democratic candidates, including

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

for U.S. president by nearly 40 points. Its two previous mayors,

Bob Coble Robert D. "Bob" Coble (born April 27, 1953) is an attorney, and served as the 69th mayor of Columbia, South Carolina. Early life, education and career Coble, a resident of Columbia, graduated from Dreher High School in 1971 where he was stu ...

and Steve Benjamin were Democrats.

City council election

In 2004, Rickenmann was elected as an At-Large representative for Columbia City Council. He held the position until 2013 when he chose not to run for reelection. He ran again for city council in 2017, winning the election as a representative from Columbia's fourth district. Joe Biden in the Oval Office with newly-elected mayors FGq2Q3EXwAQiJZ9

Joe Biden in the Oval Office with newly-elected mayors FGq2Q3EXwAQiJZ9

Endorsements

In June 2023, Rickenmann endorsed

Tim Scott Timothy Eugene Scott (born September 19, 1965) is an American businessman and politician serving since 2013 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from South Carolina. A member of the Re ...

in the

2024 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 5, 2024. The Republican Party (United States), Republican Party's Ticket (election), ticket—Donald Trump, who was the 45th president of ...

Electoral history

Notes

External links

Rickenmann announces bid for Mayor, April 28, 2021
on

WLTX-TV WLTX (channel 19) is a television station in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, affiliated with CBS. Owned by Tegna Inc., the station maintains studios on Garners Ferry Road (US 76–378) in southeastern Columbia, and its transmitter is l ...

Mayor's Inauguration and Swearing In Ceremony, January 4, 2022
from City of

Fireside Chat with Mayor Daniel Rickenmann, May 11, 2023
from

Bipartisan Policy Center The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank that promotes bipartisanship. The organization aims to combine ideas from both the Republican and Democratic parties to address U.S. policy challenges. History BPC w ...

Mayor Rickenmann and Congressman Jim Clyburn greet President Joe Biden, arriving on Air Force One in Lexington County, SC, July 6, 2023
on WLTX
Mayor Rickenmann and Congressman Jim Clyburn greet President Joe Biden, visiting West Columbia to highlight new manufacturing partnership in Lexington County, SC, July 6, 2023
on

WIS (TV) WIS (channel 10) is a television station in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, affiliated with NBC and The CW. The station is owned by Gray Media alongside low-power Telemundo affiliate WTES-LD (channel 16). The two stations share studios ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rickenmann, Daniel Living people Mayors of Columbia, South Carolina 21st-century mayors of places in South Carolina South Carolina Republicans Year of birth missing (living people) University of South Carolina alumni American people of Swiss descent People from Spartanburg, South Carolina