Comedian Stephen Colbert’s sister Elizabeth Colbert Busch is on the Democratic ballot in a South Carolina primary on March 19. The primary is to choose candidates fill the congressional seat left vacant when Republican Tim Scott was appointed to the Senate. Scott filled the vacancy left when Republican Jim DeMint resigned in December 2012 to head conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation.
Busch is expected to win the primary. She has never run for office before. According to her campaign website, she is a “job creator”—a phrase often used by Republicans. South Carolina is a red state.
“Elizabeth Colbert Busch felt compelled to enter the contest as a Democratic Party candidate. She has been a decades-long resident of the area since her family moved to the state in 1969. She brings a wealth of success in business with a track record of bringing high-paying jobs to the region,” according to her website. Civil rights icon John Lewis endorsed her.
Busch’s famous brother Stephen Colbert hosts a satirical show, in which he portrays a conservative pundit who bears his name. He appears in public in character, and made a mock run for president as a conservative. Colbert said he may break character to campaign for her. “She’s my sister, and I’m willing to, you know, break the jewel of my own creation to try to do something for her,” Colbert said on CNN’s “The Lead.”
Her Republican opponent is likely to be disgraced former governor Mark Sanford, who disappeared while in office to visit his Argentine mistress. Sanford resigned after his scandal in 2009.
Busch’s opponent in the primary is Ben Frasier, who has run before but has not been successful.
The election will be May 7.
