Thomas Ravenel announces bid for South Carolina governor

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – Thomas Ravenel, a reality television star and former South Carolina treasurer, has his sights set on the governor’s mansion in 2026.

Ravenel announced his decision in a late-night post on social media Thursday.

“I’m running for Governor of South Carolina and none of the lightweights currently in the race are going to stop me,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “I have a message that’s going to change not just South Carolina but the entire country.”

The 62-year-old hinted at a potential bid earlier this month, writing in a Feb. 1 post that he was “thinking about getting back into politics.”

“We’ve had terrible leadership at the governor’s position,” Ravenel wrote. “We’re one of the least competitive states in the southeast based on our extremely high counterproductive income tax rates. Also, we tax cars and boats and boat motors and the costs to extract these taxes barely cover the revenue received. Poor leadership!!!”

Ravenel’s brief stint as state treasurer ended in his 2007 resignation after he was indicted on federal cocaine charges. He was sentenced to 10 months in prison.

He ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate twice – first as a Republican in 2004 and then again in 2014 when he challenged Lindsey Graham as an Independent candidate.

Ravenel appeared in the first five seasons of the popular Charleston-based Bravo series “Southern Charm.”

He is the son of former Congressman Arthur Ravenel Jr., who spent years representing the Lowcountry in the state legislature before serving four terms in Congress from 1987 to 1995. He helped secure funds for his namesake Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, which connects Mount Pleasant and the greater Charleston areas, after returning to the South Carolina Senate in 1997.

Filing for the gubernatorial race does not open until next year, but candidates are already lining up to replace term-limited Henry McMaster.

U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, who represents the First Congressional District, has been traveling around the state as she mulls her own GOP bid. Attorney General Alan Wilson and Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette are also considered likely contenders in the Republican primary.

This story is developing and may be updated.