Southern Charm’s Thomas Ravenel Withdraws from SC Governor Race, Citing a Surprising Reason

Thomas Ravenel took to his X account on Tuesday to confirm he is no longer planning to run for governor of South Carolina in 2026.

Just days after the 62-year-old Southern Charm alum announced his potential political comeback on the same platform, Thomas returned to social media to share that he was pulling out of the race — and to reveal why he made the sudden decision.

“Being a single father of three young children, I believe this is not the time for me to be running for Governor of South Carolina. Consequently, I hereby withdraw my intentions to be a gubernatorial candidate in 2026. At this juncture of my life, it is much more important to raise my young family than to run for political office,” Thomas explained on February 11.

As Southern Charm fans may know, Thomas shares two children with his ex-girlfriend and former co-star, Kathryn Dennis, 33, including daughter Kensington “Kensie” Calhoun, 10, and son Saint Julien, 9. He also has a younger child, son Jonathan Jackson, 4, with his former fiancée, Heather Mascoe, who he welcomed in 2020.

Before his latest tweet, Thomas shared his political news with his online audience.

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

While it is unclear what kind of custody arrangement Thomas has with Heather for their son, he was named as the primary parent of Kensie and Saint in 2023 and has blasted Kathryn for her lack of involvement with their kids on several occasions since.

“She will never ever have her own kids without supervision or ever overnight. Why? Because she is a sh*tty mom,” he wrote in one since-deleted post shared in November 2024.

Then, one month later, he threatened to request the release of court documents, seemingly in regard to why Kathyrn lost custody.

“Everyone thinks that I’m a horrible person and that [Kathryn] is a wonderful mom,” he said. “[They think] I got sole custody because I paid off the judges and the family court system is corrupt … If you truly believe these lies, please comment below so I can show the judge and get the records unsealed so everyone can see the truth.”

Thomas Ravenel was featured on Southern Charm from season one through season five.