Arthur Ravenel Jr., former Lowcountry congressman and SC lawmaker, dies at 95
Arthur Ravenel Jr., a former Lowcountry congressman and South Carolina legislator whose name is attached to Charleston’s most iconic bridge, died Jan. 16, his family announced. He was 95.
The family did not disclose a cause of death.
“Arthur Ravenel was a giant of a man. He loved and fought for everything that makes South Carolina great,” Gov. Henry McMaster said in a statement late Monday. “His remarkable legacy will live on in our love for our people, our heritage and our blessings of nature. Peggy and I hold the Ravenel family in our hearts and prayers.”
McMaster said he’ll ask for flags to be lowered at the appropriate time.
Born in Charleston in 1927, Ravenel attended the College of Charleston in 1950 after his U.S. Marine Corps service from 1945 to 1946, according to his legislative biography. He served in the South Carolina House from 1953 to 1958 and, years later after unsuccessful bids for elected office, was elected to the state Senate, serving from 1980 to 1986. He served again from 1997 to 2003, his State House biography says.
Ravenel’s Senate district covered Charleston, Georgetown and Horry counties.
By then a Lowcountry political titan, Ravenel, who worked in real estate and as a general contractor, ran for and won the 1st Congressional District, serving from 1987 to 1995. He was succeeded by former U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford.
In 1994, Ravenel unsuccessfully ran for governor, won by Republican David Beasley, who served one term.
Years later, Ravenel was elected to the Charleston County School Board.
Ravenel’s name is attached to one of Charleston’s most iconic structures, the bridge that crosses the Cooper River and connects Charleston with Mount Pleasant.
When the bridge was deemed unsafe by inspectors, Ravenel, who spearheaded a push to start the State Infrastructure Bank, fought for funding to replace the bridge, later named in his honor. It now hosts one of the state’s largest foot races, the Cooper River Bridge Run.
His public life was not without some controversy.
While in Congress, Ravenel made an inappropriate remark about Black people and was reported to have made another inappropriate comment made during the debate over removing the Confederate flag from atop the State House dome in 2000 about the NAACP and people with disabilities.
Asked about his comments, Ravenel told his hometown newspaper, the Charleston Post and Courier, that he misspoke, calling it was “a slip of the tongue.”
“I made a rhetorical slip, and they want to lynch me for it,” he told the paper then.
Known as “Cousin Arthur,” Ravenel, “loved Charleston in his bones, and Charleston loved him back,” current Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg said.
“Over the course of 95 remarkable years, he was a Marine, a business leader, a family man, and a distinguished public servant at every level of government,” Tecklenburg said of his passing in a statement. “Put simply, his was a life in full — a life of joy and meaning and consequence — and he will be much missed.”
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, the current Republican holding Ravenel’s former seat in the 1st District, shared condolences on social media Monday evening.
“Today we lost a great friend of the Lowcountry and former Representative of SC-01 - Arthur Ravenel Jr. Our prayers are with the Ravenel family this evening,” Mace tweeted.
Ravenel had six children, including Thomas, who, like his father, ran for and held political office.
Thomas Ravenel was elected S.C. treasurer in 2006, but not a year later resigned after he was indicted on federal drug charges.
He’s been a mainstay on Bravo’s hit TV show “Southern Charm.”
“Rest in Peace Dad 3/29/27–1/16/23,” Thomas Ravenel tweeted of his father’s death.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This story was originally published January 17, 2023 at 10:26 AM.
