Stephen Colbert’s support might make all the difference for a congressional candidate in South Carolina: his sister.
“I’ve heard he’s very excited about this, so I would be really surprised if he did not play a pivotal role,” local political consultant Tyler Jones said of Elizabeth Colbert-Busch’s campaign.
The comedian’s older sister will file papers today in South Carolina to run in the Democratic primaries in the state’s 1st District, where the Comedy Central host grew up.
If Colbert-Busch wins the primary, she’ll face an uphill fight to win the seat recently vacated by Tim Scott, now South Carolina’s junior senator.
“This went from a solidly Republican district to being a complete tossup with her in the race,” said Jones, a Democratic strategist who isn’t involved in her campaign.
Although the area is strongly conservative, Stephen Colbert’s involvement could swing votes — especially among students who attend the seven colleges, universities and professional schools in the district.
“There’s a lot of college kids in the district, and there’s going to be a real push to register and turn them out,” Jones told The Post.
A development director at Clemson University, Colbert-Busch played a big role in her brother’s early years, moving home from college when he was 10, after their father and two brothers were killed in a plane crash.
Now 58, Colbert-Busch would benefit from her brother’s fund-raising connections. The primary is two months away, and she’ll need to advertise heavily.
In the Republican primary will be Mark Sanford, who as governor became a national punch line in 2009 after he disappeared to conduct an extramarital affair in Argentina. Also competing to replace Scott will be Teddy Turner, the son of Ted Turner, the billionaire CNN founder known for his liberal politics and 10-year marriage to Jane Fonda.