THE LATEST ON A U.S. SENATE RACE TURNED REALITY TV SHOW …

By FITSNEWS || Back in March, Lowcountry businessman Thomas Ravenel wrote a masterful indictment of the American military-industrial complex entitled “Heeding Eisenhower.”

In his personal life, though, it seems the independent U.S. Senate candidate needs to start heeding Dr. Phil …

On Sunday evening the 52-year-old Ravenel announced – via Facebook – the end of his relationship with 23-year-old girlfriend Kathryn Dennis, the mother of his seven-month-old daughter and his co-star on the Bravo TV reality show Southern Charm.

The post – which was quickly taken down – alleged an odd reason for the breakup. Specifically, it claimed Dennis did not come to Ravenel’s defense quickly enough in the aftermath of a recent assault allegation made against Ravenel by Dennis’ hairdresser, Lauren Moser.

In that October 17 incident, Ravenel was accused of repeatedly slamming a door into Moser and knocking her down several steps. A police incident report also alleges Ravenel fell into the pool while carrying his daughter in his arms that same evening.

Good times …

Anyway, Dennis stood by her man but according to Ravenel she didn’t do so fast enough … hence “his” decision to break off the relationship.

But is that really how things went down?

Sources familiar with the drama tell FITS a vastly different story … and they have documentation to back it up.

According to multiple witness accounts (confirmed via text messages obtained by FITS), Ravenel allegedly offered Dennis inducements – including a $3,500 a month stipend – to keep quiet after she broke up with him on Saturday evening.

“If you can keep this private, I will continue to pay for (the baby’s nanny) and let you stay at my house on Charlotte Street until we have a mediated settlement and will pay for baby supplies,” a text message from Ravenel read. “If you go public you will have to leave Charlotte Street immediately there will be no money for (the nanny) but I will continue to pay only for baby supplies. And things are going to get very messy.”

“I’m going public,” Ravenel texted Dennis not long after. “Better lawyer up.”

Ravenel also warned Dennis against communicating with members of the media.

“If I read about it on Fits then I’ll know where it came fro(m),” he texted in one exchange, referring to this website.

Ravenel also allegedly fired his child’s nanny in the aftermath of the breakup because she refused to go on the record saying Dennis was a “bad mom.” The nanny declined to comment on the breakup, referring FITS to an attorney she has retained to protect her interests.

Needless to say, all of this is sensational copy for a reality television producer – but none of it is likely to help Ravenel win votes in his bid to unseat liberal incumbent “Republican” Lindsey Graham.

Given our oft-stated contempt for Graham, this website was initially quite supportive of Ravenel’s candidacy – but several weeks ago we cut ties when we began to suspect the whole thing was more about reality television ratings, not real world political issues.

(For our report on that metamorphosis, CLICK HERE).

Ravenel showed flashes of his policy brilliance during a recent radio interview with former S.C. lieutenant governor Ken Ard – reminding us of the vast potential he had as a candidate. In fact internal polling from multiple campaigns showed him pulling between 12-15 percent support as recently as August – well within striking distance given a sufficient financial investment down the campaign’s homestretch.

“The numbers were there for him,” one GOP pollster told us recently. “Lindsey Graham is the most unpopular Republican incumbent in America and Ravenel could have had him on the ropes with a credible and well-funded candidacy.”

Clearly such a candidacy never materialized, though …

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