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 But millions may end up seeing the speech on national television
due to an unusual twist in Ravenel's candidacy - his role on Bravo's
"Southern Charm" reality show.
The wealthy real estate developer's long-shot bid to topple Graham
is being filmed for the second season of the series, which follows
the hard-partying lives of Ravenel and five other Charleston
socialites and is scheduled to air next year.
In an era when the lives of professional athletes, real estate
agents and housewives play out before cameras, Ravenel's campaign
appears to be the first in a major race to pair politics with
reality TV.
The show has raised his profile, drawing an average audience of
nearly 1.3 million viewers per episode last spring, and it may give
him a wide platform to trumpet his message of limited government, if
not in time to help him in the November election.
The polo-playing son of a former U.S. congressman says reality TV is
a mixed blessing. Filming is time consuming and the show has
triggered criticism that he is not a serious candidate.
 "They are dead wrong," Ravenel, 52, said of his doubters. "This is
about changing the course of the country and challenging the
political establishment which I believe has run the country into a
ditch."
Ravenel spoke to Reuters at his 60-acre Brookland Plantation on
Edisto Island, about 40 miles from Charleston, before the start of a
fundraiser he described as a chance to reach out to his 5,000
Facebook friends.
He said many of them were "politically agnostic" and potential votes
for him to win.
About 50 people showed up. Among the crowd were fellow cast mates
from "Southern Charm," including Ravenel's girlfriend, Kathryn
Dennis, who is 29 years his junior, and the couple's daughter who
was born in March.
With cameras rolling, Ravenel stood on his porch, quoting the
ancient Greek statesman Pericles and talking about how electing an
independent would better balance the country's two-party political
system.
Some guests showed more interest in the pulled pork and sweet tea
lunch spread out on tables under moss-draped live oaks in sweltering
90-degree heat.
TRAILS IN POLLS
Ravenel, often referred to on the show as "T-Rav," officially
launched his campaign in July, when he filed a petition to run as an
independent.
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An early September New York Times/CBS News/YouGov Battleground
Tracker poll showed him trailing far behind Graham and Democrat Brad
Hutto, with only 8 percent of likely voters saying they would vote
for Ravenel. Graham had 37 percent support in the poll, followed by
Hutto at 28 percent. Graham has a huge money advantage in the
race, having raised nearly $10 million. Ravenel's campaign would not
comment on his totals ahead of filing its first campaign finance
report in October. His campaign manager said the candidate intended
to invest enough of his own money to win.
Funds are not Ravenel's only challenge. He also must deal with a
tricky past. After running for the U.S. Senate a decade ago and
placing third in the Republican primary, Ravenel was elected in 2006
as state treasurer in South Carolina.
But he resigned in 2007 after being charged with federal drug
trafficking. He pleaded guilty, admitting to sharing cocaine with
friends, and served time in prison.
Ben Douglass, 30, who lives on Hilton Head Island and attended the
fundraiser at Ravenel's plantation, said he appreciated the
candidate's honesty about his past and planned to vote for him.
"So many politicians lie," Douglass said. "He admits his mistakes."
Ravenel is banking his political revival less on "Southern Charm"
than on the bet that voters are fed up with elected officials from
both parties.
"(They) are infatuated with the smell of their own cologne and they
are clinging to their own power," he said. "This is more important
than a TV show. I want to get Lindsey Graham out of office."
(Reporting by Harriet McLeod; Writing by Colleen Jenkins; Editing by
Cynthia Osterman)
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