Colbert Reaches Double Digits in '08 Polling

Posted by Steve Benen at 2:00 PM on October 25, 2007.

This post, written by Steve Benen, originally appeared on The Carpetbagger Report

Sure, Stephen Colbert is a comedian who has never held elected office. And sure, he's running for president as a fictional, bombastic character. And sure, he said he's limiting his campaign to just one state, in part because the whole "presidential campaign" is just an amusing little stunt for entertainment purposes.

But it's probably worth noting that the Colbert character may actually win some votes.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that Colbert is preferred by 13% of voters as an independent candidate challenging Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Rudy Giuliani. The survey was conducted shortly after Colbert's surprise announcement that he is lusting for the Oval Office.

The result is similar when Fred Thompson is the Republican in the three-way race. With Thompson as the GOP candidate, Colbert earns 12% of the vote.

Here's the kicker: In a three-way contest, among voters aged 18-29, Colbert does better than the Republican candidate.

Among all voters, in a three-way race, Rasmussen shows Hillary Clinton leading with 45%, followed by Giuliani at 35%, and Colbert third with 13%. The numbers are nearly identical with Fred Thompson in the mix instead of Giuliani.

To be sure, this is silly. Colbert is a fictional character, and he's not really a candidate. But the poll is actually illuminating anyway. Colbert's support in the Rasmussen data comes almost exclusively from the right, which as Matt Yglesias suggested, is "evidence that an anti-Giuliani spoiler candidate (Tancredo? Paul? Buchanan?) could find an audience," because "there's an evident disaffection with the Republican options."

Either that, or as Eric Kleefeld notes, "conservatives who have watched his show really don't get the joke."

Of course, it's also worth noting that the FEC isn't amused.

ABC News reported that the Federal Election Commission may have to decide whether Colbert's campaign is real.

If his campaign plays out the way he's indicated that it will, Comedy Central and Colbert's sponsor, Doritos, could be violating federal laws that bar corporations from backing political campaigns, election law experts say.

"How serious can you get about running as a joke?" said Massie Ritsch, communications director for the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan group that tracks campaign finances. "The Federal Election Commission doesn't have a great sense of humor."

Federal law bars corporations from contributing to candidates, either through donations or in-kind contributions such as free use of goods or services.

Media organizations are permitted to feature presidential candidates in covering campaigns. But no precedent exists for a television network promoting and fostering a candidacy of one of its own talk-show hosts, said Lawrence M. Noble, a former general counsel for the Federal Election Commission. And comedian Pat Paulsen's 1968 candidacy predated current campaign finance regulations.

"The real problem comes in the fact that he actually has his own show, talking about his campaign, paid for by a network," Noble said. "These are the kind of things on slow days you'd debate until the late afternoon at the FEC, but there are serious questions that come up. In theory, he could end up having some campaign finance problems."

While he has talked about his candidacy publicly only in character -- as the combative faux-talk-show host who favors "truthiness" on "The Colbert Report" -- Colbert is taking formal steps that are consistent with an actual presidential candidacy.

He has begun collecting signatures to get himself placed on both the Democratic and Republican presidential primary ballots in South Carolina.

I think the lawyers at Comedy Central have picked up on this. They've already dropped plans for Comedy Central's website to post signature forms to put Colbert on the ballot.

And if, by chance, Colbert continues to run and secures a spot on the ballot, The Atlantic's Joshua Green has done a serious piece weighing the likely political consequences.

Stay tuned.

Tagged as: colbert, election08

Steve Benen is a freelance writer/researcher and creator of The Carpetbagger Report. In addition, he is the lead editor of Salon.com's Blog Report, and has been a contributor to Talking Points Memo, Washington Monthly, Crooks & Liars, The American Prospect, and the Guardian.