Ralph Norman
Ralph Warren Norman Jr. is an American politician and real estate developer who has served as the U.S. representative for since 2017. His district includes most of the South Carolina side of the Charlotte metropolitan area, along with outer portions of the Upstate and Midlands. A member of the Republican Party, Norman served as the South Carolina state representative for the 48th district from 2005 to 2007 and from 2009 to 2017.
Norman won a special election after Mick Mulvaney vacated his seat in Congress upon being appointed director of the Office of Management and Budget by President Donald Trump. As of 2019, with a net worth of $18.3 million, Norman is the 28th wealthiest member of Congress. Govtrack.us ranked Norman as the most conservative member of the 117th Congress as of February 2023.
He advocated for the implementation of martial law to prevent the peaceful transfer of power to President-elect Joe Biden in January 2021.
Early life and education
Norman was born in Rock Hill, South Carolina, on June 20, 1953. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in business from Presbyterian College in 1975.Career
Norman 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.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 for U.S. Congress in South Carolina's 5th congressional district against John Spratt. He lost to Spratt.On November 3, 2009, Norman defeated Democrat Kathy Cantrell in a special election to reclaim his old seat.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2017 special election
In December 2016, President Donald Trump nominated Mick Mulvaney for Director of the Office of Management and Budget. At the time, Mulvaney represented South Carolina's 5th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. Shortly after the nomination, and in anticipation that Mulvaney's seat in Congress would be vacated once the United States Senate confirmed him, Norman announced his intention to resign from the South Carolina House of Representatives to run for Congress.On May 16, 2017, Norman won a Republican primary runoff election against Tommy Pope by a margin of 0.6%, triggering an automatic recount per South Carolina state law. Following that recount, the South Carolina State Election Commission certified Norman as the Republican nominee on May 19, 2017. With 35,425 votes cast, Norman received 17,823 to Pope's 17,602, a 221-vote difference.
Having secured the Republican nomination, Norman faced Democratic nominee Sumter attorney Archie Parnell in a special election on June 20. Norman received 51.0% of the vote to Parnell's 47.9%.
Norman was sworn into office on June 26, 2017.
2018
On March 19, 2018, Norman filed for reelection with the South Carolina Election Commission. Facing no primary challengers, he secured the Republican party nomination after the primary election on June 12.Meanwhile, Parnell chose to run again for South Carolina's 5th Congressional District seat. He defeated three opponents to win the Democratic nomination, and faced Norman again in the general election.
The general election was on November 6. Norman was reelected with 57.0% of the vote to Parnell's 41.5%. State and national Democrats had distanced themselves from Parnell after news broke that he had abused his first wife.
2020
Norman filed for reelection on March 16, 2020. He secured the Republican nomination after facing no Republican challengers in the primary election on June 12.Norman went on to defeat Democrat Mauricus "Moe" Brown in the general election on November 3. He received 60.1% of the vote to Brown's 39.9%.
In 2022 and 2024, he faced and defeated Democratic nominee Evangeline Hundley.
Tenure
As of the 117th Congress, Norman voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 2% of the time according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis.Silfab Solar Controversy
In 2024, he became the target of protests from members of his district over the controversial plan for Canadian solar panel manufacturer Silfab Solar, Inc. to build a solar panel manufacturing plant in Norman's district. The controversy stems around the Canadian company's plan to use the toxic gas Silane at a site zoned by the York County Zoning Board as "Light Industrial". The proposed site sits adjacent to an elementary and middle school, prompting fears there would not be time to evacuate thousands of children in time. The York County Board of Zoning Appeals ruled unanimously that York County staff erred and solar panel and cell manufacturing is prohibited, reversing York County staff’s interpretation on May 9, 2024. Silfab appealed the York zoning vote, though the county has asserted they don't have to, in violation of the order of the Board of Zoning appeals decision.Norman became a target of the protest due to his founding of the Bipartisan Congressional Solar Caucus with Illinois Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi.
Kavanaugh hearings joke
On September 20, 2018, at an election debate for the Republican nomination, Norman joked about sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. He kicked off the debate by 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."Firearm incident
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. During that conversation, he placed his.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." According to Norman, the loaded firearm was visible for "maybe a minute, or two minutes" and was never pointed at any individual, but MDA representatives who were seated at the table with Norman said the firearm was visible for "five to 10 minutes" and that they felt unsafe. Norman holds a concealed weapons permit issued by South Carolina.The incident sparked widespread criticism of Norman. On April 9, 2018, South Carolina Democratic Party Chair Trav Robertson wrote the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division a letter requesting felony charges against Norman for his conduct. The case was originally assigned to South Carolina 16th Solicitor Kevin Brackett, but Brackett recused himself, citing a "personal friendship" with Norman. 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 prosecutable offense."
Conservative Political Action Conference attendance
In late February 2021, Norman and a dozen other Republican House members skipped votes and enlisted others to vote for them, citing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. But he and the other members were actually attending the Conservative Political Action Conference, which was held at the same time as their slated absences. In response, the Campaign for Accountability, an ethics watchdog group, filed a complaint with the House Committee on Ethics and requested an investigation into Norman and the other lawmakers.Conservative Opportunity Society
In 2021, Norman was elected chair of the Conservative Opportunity Society.COVID-19 pandemic
In 2021, Norman violated House rules by not wearing a face mask in the House Chamber and was fined $500 as provided by the rules. Despite committing the infraction, he and two other Republican lawmakers sued Speaker Pelosi over the incident. Norman tested positive for COVID-19 on August 5, 2021, and reported that he had been fully vaccinated and had only mild symptoms.Federal loans
In August 2022, Norman criticized President Joe Biden for forgiving up to $10,000 of student loan debt for eligible borrowers. Norman was criticized for hypocrisy because he had $306,520 of debt from his PPP loan forgiven.Biden impeachment inquiry
Norman supported the inquiry into an impeachment of Joe Biden, and said on the House floor that Biden would need to "prove" his innocence:Political positions
Steve King
In 2019, Norman joined a small group of House Republicans who sought to reinstate Representative Steve King on House committees. King had lost his committee positions due to a series of racist and white nationalist remarks. The group included Louie Gohmert and Paul Gosar. King was not reinstated.Donald Trump
Norman was described as a Trump ally during Donald Trump's presidency. After Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election and Trump made claims of election fraud, Norman called for an investigation into fraud.On October 31, 2019, Norman voted with his fellow Republicans in opposition to a resolution outlining rules for then-ongoing impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump. On December 18, 2019, Norman voted against both of the articles of impeachment of the first impeachment of President Trump.
After Trump was impeached for his alleged incitement of a pro-Trump mob to storm the U.S. Capitol over false claims of election fraud, Norman criticized Representative Liz Cheney for voting to impeach Trump. Norman said he was "bothered by Cheney's attitude". Norman himself voted against the second impeachment of Trump. On January 17, 2021, Norman sent a text message to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows asking him to urge President Trump to invoke martial law to prevent the inauguration of Joe Biden.
However, Norman endorsed and campaigned for his decades-long ally Nikki Haley for president over Trump in the 2024 Republican primaries. He was the only member of the U.S. Congress to endorse Haley.