Ralph Norman

RepublicanU.S. Representative, SC-5

Age	72 (b. 1953-06-20)
Gender	Male
In office since	2017-06-26 (~8 yrs)
Race / ethnicity	White
Religion	Presbyterian (Westminster Presbyterian Church, Rock Hill, SC)
Education	Rock Hill High School (1971); B.S. in Business, Presbyterian College, Clinton, SC (1975)
Prior occupation	Commercial real estate developer; spent career at Warren Norman Company, his father's firm, growing it into one of SC's foremost commercial real estate companies with hotels, shopping centers, and rental properties; managed over $150M in commercial real estate
Military service	No
Birthplace	Rock Hill, South Carolina
Languages	English
Marital status	married — Elaine Rice Norman
Children	4
Residence	Rock Hill, South Carolina
Notable relatives	Father: Warren Norman, founder of the Warren Norman Company, a major commercial real estate developer in York County, SC

Wikipedia · Ballotpedia · OpenSecrets · Official site

Pending research: openly lgbtq.

Career & politics

First elected	2004
Previous offices	South Carolina House of Representatives, District 48 (2005–2007) · South Carolina House of Representatives, District 48 (2009–2017)
Committees	House Committee on Financial Services (Subcommittees: Financial Institutions; Housing and Insurance) · House Committee on Rules · House Committee on the Budget
Caucuses	House Freedom Caucus · Republican Study Committee · Congressional Western Caucus · Congressional Solar Caucus
Ideology	Ranked most conservative House member in the 117th Congress (GovTrack); Heritage Action scorecard 100% (119th Congress); Freedom Caucus member; GovTrack 2022 report card ranked most politically right among all Representatives
Signature legislation	Co-sponsored Balanced Budget Amendment legislation · H.R. 9103, Merit Restoration Act (119th Congress) · H.R. 8118, Election Infrastructure Integrity Act

Financial

Net worth: disclosed $24,700,000–$95,000,000 (2022) · estimate

PNC Bank Self-Directed IRA (cash)	other · $5,000,000–$25,000,000 · 2022
Various rental/commercial real estate properties (SC and other states)	real_estate · $1,000,000–$5,000,000 · 2022
Warren Norman Company (family commercial real estate business)	business_owned · 2022

Top donors: House Freedom Fund ($39,625) · Warren Norman Company · Conservative Opportunity Fund (Norman's Leadership PAC) ($34,300) · Burns Chevrolet · Nutramax Laboratories

Top industries: Real Estate · Finance/Insurance · Conservative PACs/Ideological donors · Retired · General Business

Scandals & crimes ledger

resolved — House Mask Mandate Fine — Upheld by Ethics Committee, Supreme Court Appeal Rejected

ethics-violation · 2021-05-01 · House Committee on Ethics; U.S. Supreme Court · Fine of $500 upheld. Norman's appeal to the House Ethics Committee was rejected on July 20, 2021. His subsequent lawsuit against Speaker Pelosi was dismissed by a federal district court, affirmed by the D.C. Circuit on Speech and Debate Clause grounds, and the Supreme Court denied certiorari on February 20, 2024.

Norman was fined $500 by the House Sergeant at Arms in May 2021 for refusing to wear a face mask on the House floor in violation of House Resolution 38 and House Rule II, clause 3(g). He joined a maskless selfie on the House floor with Greene, Massie, and Rep. Mary Miller. Norman appealed to the House Ethics Committee in June 2021, but a majority of the Committee voted to uphold the fine on July 20, 2021. Norman then filed a civil lawsuit against Speaker Pelosi, which was dismissed at the district level, affirmed by the D.C. Circuit, and denied certiorari by the Supreme Court in February 2024, exhausting all avenues of appeal.

Sources: Washington Times · NBC News · The Hill · House Committee on Ethics

resolved — Travis Price Defamation Lawsuit — Dismissed on Federal Employment Immunity Grounds

abuse-of-office · 2021-07-19 · In June 2021, Rock Hill, South Carolina resident Travis Price and his brother Ricky were arrested by Rock Hill police in an incident that drew local and national attention after body-camera video later surfaced. Rep. Ralph Norman posted on Facebook shortly afterward, thanking law enforcement and describing Price as having been 'non-compliant' and 'interfering' with an investigation, referring to him as a suspect; the underlying hindering charge against Price was ultimately dropped, and a police officer involved in the arrest was separately tried and acquitted of assault and battery in January 2022. On July 19, 2021, Price filed a civil lawsuit in federal court naming both the City of Rock Hill and Rep. Norman as defendants, alleging defamation, gross negligence, and civil conspiracy over the Facebook post. In June 2022 the U.S. Government moved to substitute itself as the defendant in Norman's place, arguing under the Westfall Act that Norman's statements were made within the scope of his federal employment. A magistrate judge recommended dismissal of Norman from the suit in July 2022, and a federal district judge formally dismissed Norman from the case on October 19, 2022, holding that his comments fell within the scope of his official duties. The claims against the City of Rock Hill proceeded separately and were settled for $500,000 in October 2023 — a settlement that did not involve Norman. · Dismissed from the lawsuit; court held Norman's statements were made within the scope of his federal employment (Westfall Act substitution), shielding him from personal liability. No finding of defamation liability was made against him.

A federal defamation lawsuit filed against Norman over a 2021 Facebook post about a constituent's arrest was dismissed in October 2022 after a court ruled his comments were made within the scope of his official duties as a member of Congress; no liability was found against him personally.

Sources: Post and Courier · FITSNews · QC News (WCCB) · WRHI · Yahoo News (AP) · Post and Courier