Ravenel Campaign Limps to a Disappointing Finish

Tonight brought a welcome end to what seemed like a painful campaign for Thomas Ravenel.  The former Republican’s comeback attempt, running for the U.S. Senate as an independent, has not gone well.  With less than 10% of the vote now reporting, Ravenel has 3.67% of the vote.  That may grow a bit, as more favorable areas report.  But it’s a dismal result for a candidate who, at one point, hoped to present himself as a viable conservative alternative to Senator Lindsay Graham.

Ravenel is a former State Treasurer and son of former South Carolina Congressman Arthur Ravenel, Jr. In 2007, he was forced to resign from his office and later convicted of purchasing cocaine. Since then, Ravenel has turned his fortunes around, securing a starring role in Bravo’s reality series Southern Charm.

A disorganized campaign and a candidate who couldn’t seem to get out from under his own screwball antics doomed this once promising comeback bid.  Ravenel’s campaign has struggled to crack 10% in most polls and he stumbled in September with his very first television ad.

Earlier this month he announced he was quitting his reality show, then he loaned his campaign nearly a half-million dollars of personal funds.  Several days later, a scandal broke in which a woman claimed that he had assaulted her.  She said that during the altercation, Ravenel fell into a pool with his baby.