All Blog Posts from Horserace

Stephen Colbert is a fake pundit, but it looks like his presidential campaign is going to be the real deal, at least on paper.

CBS News' Joy Lin reports that the star of Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" is going to file paperwork to run in South Carolina's Democratic primary, according to a source close to the state party.

The primary is expected to be held on Jan. 26, pending Democratic National Committee approval of a move up from Jan. 29. Colbert, a South Carolina native, is touting himself as a "favorite son" candidate and has already won a corporate sponsor -- Doritos tortilla chips -- and promised to "crush the state of Georgia."

The choice of party is an interesting one for Colbert, whose TV persona is a caricature of conservative talking heads like Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity. We can only hope he'll get invited to a debate.

After existing for two weeks only within the New York studios of Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report," Stephen Colbert's satirical presidential campaign acquired a touch of truthiness on Sunday with a visit to the University of South Carolina.

Colbert is running as a "favorite son" candidate in South Carolina, where he plans to "compete" in both the Democratic and Republican primaries. And though he might not be a real politician, he's already got one part of the craft down pat: making promises he can't keep.

"I promise, if elected, I will crush the state of Georgia," he told a crowd of sign-waving fans, according to the Associated Press. "Our peaches are more numerous than Georgia's. They are more juiciful."

The visit came amid news that Colbert's bid to be the 21st century's version of Pat Paulsen has some support, especially among college students like those Colbert visited. According to a Rasmussen Reports poll released last week, Colbert is supported by 28 percent of likely voters aged 18-29 when pitted against Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani. Swap Fred Thompson for Giuliani, and Colbert's share jumps to 31 percent.

Will Colbert become a frequent presence on the campaign trail? It's possible: The Writers Guild of America may go on strike as soon as this Wednesday, which would likely force "The Colbert Report" into reruns, but give its namesake plenty of time to crusade against bears, Georgia, and other enemies.