Ralph Norman

Ralph Norman
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from South Carolina's 5th district
Assumed office
June 20, 2017[1]
Preceded by Mick Mulvaney
Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives
from the 48th district
In office
November 3, 2009 – February 16, 2017
Preceded by Carl Gullick
Succeeded by Bruce Bryant
In office
January 2005 – January 2007
Preceded by Becky Richardson
Succeeded by Carl Gullick
Personal details
Born Ralph Warren Norman Jr.
(1953-06-20) June 20, 1953
Rock Hill, South Carolina, U.S.
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Elaine Rice
Children 4
Education Presbyterian College (BS)
Website House website

Ralph Warren Norman Jr. (born June 20, 1953) is an American real estate developer and politician serving as the U.S. Representative for South Carolina's 5th congressional district since 2017. A member of the Republican Party, he was a South Carolina House Representative from 2005 to 2007 and from 2009 until 2017.[2]

In February 2017, Norman vacated his seat to launch a U.S. congressional bid.[3] Norman won the 2017 5th congressional district special election, assuming office in the U.S. House of Representatives in June 2017.

Early life and career

He was born in York County, South Carolina, and currently resides in Rock Hill, where he is a real estate developer at the Warren Norman Company, a business founded by and named after Norman's father. He and his wife, Elaine have 4 children and 16 grandchildren.

South Carolina House of Representatives

In 2004, Norman was elected to serve District 48 in the South Carolina House of Representatives, winning a three-way Republican primary outright with 52% of the vote. After one term, Norman chose not to run for reelection so he could become the 2006 Republican candidate in an unsuccessful bid for U.S. Congress in South Carolina's 5th congressional district against John Spratt.[4]

On November 3, 2009, Ralph Norman defeated Democrat Kathy Cantrell in a special election to reclaim his old seat.[5]

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

Norman during his 2017 campaign

2017 special election

In December 2016, Norman announced that he would run for the United States House of Representatives for South Carolina's 5th congressional district seat of Mick Mulvaney, who joined the Trump administration, in the 2017 special election.[6]

On May 16, 2017, Norman won a runoff election against Tommy Pope for the Republican nomination for the 5th congressional seat of South Carolina. Norman defeated Pope by only 200 votes, with Norman tallying 17,755 votes, and Pope receiving 17,552 votes. Norman faced the Democratic nominee, Archie Parnell, in the June 20, 2017 special election, which he narrowly won with 51% of the vote.[7]

During the primary video surfaced of floor debate between Ralph Norman and challenger Tommy Pope discussing a bill to allow police officers to be treated for PTSD under Worker's Compensation. Ralph Norman stated, "Any one of us could get a crayon and coloring book and start coloring and chewing on the desk and we would be deemed mentally incompetent and we would get paid – there would be no ending to it."[8]

Tenure

Norman was sworn into office on June 26, 2017.[9] Norman joined the Republican Study Committee.[10]

Committee assignments

Caucus memberships

Firearms incident

While at a public meeting for constituents on April 6, 2018, Norman engaged in a conversation with representatives from Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America (MDA).[12] During that conversation, Norman placed his personal .38-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun on the table to illustrate his belief that "gun violence is a spiritual, mental or people issue, not a gun issue."[12] According to Norman, the loaded firearm was visible for "maybe a minute, or two minutes" and was never pointed at any individual.[13][14] However representatives from MDA who were seated at the table with Norman, said the firearm was visible for "five to 10 minutes" and that they felt unsafe.[14][15] Norman holds a Concealed Weapons Permit issued by the State of South Carolina.[16]

The incident sparked widespread criticism of Norman.[17] On April 9, 2018, South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Trav Robertson wrote a letter to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division requesting felony charges against Norman for his conduct.[18] The case was originally assigned to South Carolina 16th Solicitor Kevin Brackett. However, Brackett recused himself citing a "personal friendship" with Norman.[19] The issue was then forwarded to South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, who declined to press charges stating that Norman's actions did not "warrant a criminal investigation" or constitute "a proscutable offense."[20][21]

Sexual assault joke

On September 20, 2018, at an election debate for the Republican nomination for the 5th congressional seat of South Carolina, Norman joked about sexual assault allegations made against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. He kicked-off the debate asking the audience, “Did y’all hear this latest late-breaking news on the Kavanaugh hearings? …Ruth Bader Ginsburg came out saying she was groped by Abraham Lincoln.” [22]

References

  1. ↑ "NORMAN, Ralph, (1953 - )".
  2. ↑ South Carolia House Archived 2004-12-27 at Archive.is, Ralph Norman biography.
  3. ↑ Marchant, Bristow (2017-02-16). "SC legislator resigns seat to run in special 5th District congressional race". The State. Retrieved 2017-05-19.
  4. ↑ Lyman, Rick (April 14, 2006). "Seeing Plausible Target, Republicans Take Aim at a Democratic Seat in South Carolina". The New York Times.
  5. ↑ "Norman Returned To SC State House | FITSNews". FITSNews. November 4, 2009. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012.
  6. ↑ Marchant, Bristow (2017-02-02). "What happens after SC's Mulvaney gets Trump's budget job?". The State. Retrieved 2017-05-19.
  7. ↑ "Election Results: Norman Advances in Race for South Carolina's Fifth Congressional District". The New York Times. May 19, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Watch: Candidate for Mulvaney's Congressional Seat Mocked Injured Cops". IJR - Independent Journal Review. 2017-06-09. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  9. ↑ Dumain, Emma (June 26, 2017). "South Carolina U.S. House Delegation Now Complete with Swearing-In of Republican Ralph Norman". The Post and Courier. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Member List". Republican Study Committee. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  11. ↑ "Members". Congressional Western Caucus. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  12. 1 2 jlovegrove@postandcourier.com, Jamie Lovegrove. "U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman pulls out loaded gun in constituent meeting to make point about safety". Post and Courier. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  13. ↑ "Congressman Ralph Norman pulls out loaded gun at Rock Hill meet-and-greet". heraldonline. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  14. 1 2 Stevens, Matt; Caron, Christina (2018-04-08). "South Carolina Congressman Pulls Out Gun at a Meeting With Voters". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  15. ↑ CNN, Annie Grayer,. "Congressman pulls out gun to make point on violence". CNN. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  16. ↑ "Congressman Ralph Norman pulls out loaded gun at Rock Hill meet-and-greet". The Greenville News. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  17. ↑ "Some question legality of Rep. Norman gun display at meet-and-greet". heraldonline. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  18. ↑ "Dems seek charges after SC congressman displays handgun". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  19. ↑ "The Latest: Solicitor recuses self from congressman gun case". heraldonline. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  20. ↑ Press, The Associated (2018-04-10). "Top Prosecutor: No Gun-Related Charges for SC Congressman". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  21. ↑ Turnage, Jeremy. "AG Alan Wilson will not charge congressman who pulled out gun during constituent meeting". Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  22. ↑ Thebault, Reis (September 20, 2018). "GOP congressman jokes about Ruth Bader Ginsburg being groped — by Abraham Lincoln". The Washington Post.
South Carolina House of Representatives
Preceded by
Becky Richardson		 Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives
from the 48th district
2005–2007		 Succeeded by
Carl Gullick
Preceded by
Carl Gullick		 Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives
from the 48th district
2009–2017		 Succeeded by
Bruce Bryant
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Mick Mulvaney		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from South Carolina's 5th congressional district
June 20, 2017 – present		 Incumbent
Current U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
Karen Handel		 United States Representatives by seniority
423rd		 Succeeded by
John Curtis
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