Stephen Colbert Leads Jon Huntsman in South Carolina Poll -- Seriously
Stephen Colbert Leads Jon Huntsman in South Carolina Poll -- Seriously
By Kurt Orzeck at TheWrap
Tue Jan 10, 2012 2:43pm EST
Did Stephen Colbert snag the Huntsman Bump?
A new poll in which the satirical talk-show host is theoretically pitted against the actual Republican presidential candidates finds Colbert ahead of Jon Huntsman in South Carolina.
That could be a foreboding sign for the former Utah governor, who joked that he would benefit from "The Colbert Bump" after guesting on "The Colbert Report" in October (watch video below).
Five percent of GOP primary voters in South Carolina would pick Colbert, while only 4 percent would choose Huntsman, the new Public Policy Polling figures show.
Leading the pack in the poll, released Tuesday, is Mitt Romney with 27 percent, followed by Newt Gingrich (23 percent), Rick Santorum (18 percent), Ron Paul (8 percent) and Rick Perry (7 percent). Last is former Louisiana Governor Buddy Roemer, who also trails Colbert, with 1 percent.
Also read: Jon Huntsman Offers Stephen Colbert VP Nomination -- in Mandarin (Video)
In December, Colbert, a native of South Carolina, said in a guest editorial in The State that he wanted to sponsor the South Carolina Republican primary and would pony up a half-million dollars to cover the counties' "shortfall."
Colbert -- who, in 2007, attempted to run for president, but only in South Carolina -- also called for a referendum about whether corporations are people. The new Public Policing Polling survey also found that 67 percent of the GOP debate's likely voters think that "only people are people."
"He was rebuffed in his efforts, but our team at PPP decided if he couldn't get all that stuff on the actual ballot, we could at least poll it for him," reads a statement on PublicPolicyPolling.com.
The poll was conducted Thursday through Saturday among 1,112 likely Republican voters.
Watch Huntsman on "The Colbert Report" in October:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...31293320120110
