Stephen Colbert’s big sister is picking up right where the satirist left off–by announcing she’s running in the South Carolina special election to succeed Tim Scott in the House. Scott was recently appointed to the Senate after Jim DeMint vacated the position. Colbert had publicly asked Republican Gov. Nikki Haley to appoint him to the seat.
Elizabeth Colbert-Busch, 58, joins a race already littered with high-profile names, including former Gov. Mark Sanford and Ted Turner’s son, Teddy, who are both running for the Republican nomination. Colbert-Busch will run as a Democrat.
And in case you were wondering–unlike her famous brother, Colbert-Busch pronounces her last name with a hard “t.”
The State:
Don’t necessarily expect a huge money push from her brother, the host of Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report” and one-time candidate for the president of the United States of South Carolina. (It was a joke.)
Like everyone else, Stephen Colbert is limited to $2,500 in individual contributions by federal election law, Romjue said. And Colbert shut down his Super PAC – Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow – at the end of last year, giving away nearly $800,000 that it had raised to charities and election-reform groups.
Colbert-Busch will file in the GOP-leaning district next week. Three candidates – Turner, Republican Elizabeth Moffly and Democrat Martin Skelly – signed up to run Friday, the first day of filing for the special election. The primary is March 19. The election is May 7.