Cue your “Colbert bump” jokes, because Elizabeth Colbert-Busch, Stephen Colbert’s sister, officially filed to run for Congress on Tuesday.Colbert-Busch, a Democrat who now works for Clemson University’s Wind Turbine Drivetrain Testing Facility, filed to run for the South Carolina seat vacated by Tim Scott, who was appointed to the Senate to fill Jim DeMint’s seat.She faces two potential challengers in the Democratic primary, and, if she wins, could face former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford in the general election. Sanford, who left office in disgrace after his affair came to light in 2009, announced he will run last week, and faces Teddy Turner, the son of media mogul Ted Turner, as well as “five current and former GOP state lawmakers, a local sheriff and a Charleston city councilman,” according to the Washington Post.Turner already released a 30-second ad last week, the first in the race so far, as part of a ten-day ad buy costing $60,000.Watch:The primaries will be held on March 19, and the general election is set for May 7, according to the National Journal.Continue Reading… … Read More
Tim Scott named as Jim DeMint’s replacement
Nikki Haley has chosen Rep. Tim Scott, R-S.C., to replace Sen. Jim DeMint when he steps down in January to head up the Heritage Foundation.The New York Times’ Caucus blog reports that three Republican officials say that Scott will take the spot, making him the first black senator from the South since the late 1800s – and the only black senator in Congress.From the Times:Ms. Haley seriously considered a number of potential contenders, particularly Jenny Sanford, the ex-wife of former Gov. Mark Sanford, who supported Ms. Haley in her race two years ago. But in choosing Mr. Scott, she selected a lawmaker with a strong conservative voting record during his two years in Congress.Continue Reading… … Read More
Nikki Haley dashes Colbert’s Senate dreams
Gov. Nikki Haley, R-S.C., shot down Stephen Colbert’s dreams of replacing Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., joking that it was because “You didn’t know our state drink. Big, big mistake.”In a Facebook post, Haley, addressed the calls for Colbert to replace Sen. Jim DeMint, who announced last week that he was leaving his seat in January to take a job as chair of the Heritage Foundation. Haley, who must appoint DeMint’s successor until a special election can be held in 2014, wrote in the post: Stephen, thank you for your interest in South Carolina’s U.S. Senate seat and for the thousands of tweets you and your fans sent me. But you forget one thing, my friend. You didn’t know our state drink. Big, big mistake. Haley was referring to her April appearance on The Colbert Report, when Stephen didn’t know that milk was the state’s official drink. Haley, for her part, was stumped by Colbert’s question about the state amphibian – the spotted salamander.Continue Reading… … Read More
Nikki Haley: I won’t appoint Stephen Colbert to Senate
South Carolina’s governor appears to have closed the door on appointing Stephen Colbert to the U.S. Senate, all because the comedian didn’t know the state drink was milk.During “The Colbert Report” on Thursday, Colbert urged his fans to send Gov. Nikki Haley messages on Twitter with the hashtag “SenatorColbert” telling her why he would make a great senator from his home state. Haley is appointing a senator after Jim DeMint announced he is resigning at the end of the year.Colbert, who plays a mock conservative pundit on his Comedy Central show, also gave Haley four reasons he was the perfect choice.”You want somebody young, somebody conservative, somebody from South Carolina, maybe somebody who had a super PAC,” Colbert said, ticking off the choices by putting down a finger until the final one was left pointing at himself.”Wait a second,” Colbert said, as his crowd cheered.Thousands of messages poured into the governor’s official Twitter account. She responded on her favorite social media site, Facebook, writing on her page that she appreciated Colbert’s interest and all the tweets.Continue Reading… … Read More
Senator Stephen Colbert?
In news that is probably too much to hope for, Stephen Colbert says he is not ruling out replacing Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., should Nikki Haley come calling.”Stephen is honored by the groundswell of support from the Palmetto State and looks forward to Governor Haley’s call,” Carrie Byalick, Colbert’s personal publicist, wrote in an email to Mother Jones.DeMint announced today that he will step down from his seat in January to run the conservative Heritage Foundation, meaning that Gov. Nikki Haley will have to appoint someone to replace him until a special election can be held in 2014.In response, a Twitter feed, @ColbertforSC, popped up to encourage Colbert to run.[embedtweet id="276723943430316032"][embedtweet id="276743134099169281"]In the past, Colbert, a native of South Carolina, has twice tried to run for president, first in 2007 and then again 2012.Continue Reading… … Read More
