Stephen Colbert, South Carolina Senator? Funnyman Wants to Be Jim DeMint's Replacement

State governor Nikki Haley reminds Colbert Report host he didn't know the state drink

By Rebecca Macatee Dec 07, 2012 4:40 PMTags

Get ready, America: Stephen Colbert could be South Carolina's new senator!

The Comedy Central funnyman joked about his potential new gig on Thursday's Colbert Report. (Because Sen. Jim DeMint is resigning at the end of 2012, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley will choose a replacement for the Tea Party favorite.) 

Colbert, a South Carolina native, pointed out that the governor is "a friend of the show."  He also jokingly acknowledged the Colbert for Senate Web page and Twitter account (neither of which is affiliated with him or his show).

 "Let's see, you want somebody young, somebody conservative, somebody from South Carolina…Maybe somebody who had a Super PAC!" he pointed to himself. "Now folks, I'm not going to sit here and say I should be South Carolina's next senator, not when so many other people are saying it for me."

"I know when I look at the U.S. Senate, I say to myself, 'You know what they could use? Another white guy,'" he quipped. He then asked his viewers to tweet Gov. Haley with the hashtag #SenatorColbert.

In a Facebook post Friday, Gov. Haley thanked Colbert "for your interest in South Carolina's U.S. Senate seat and for the thousands of tweets you and your fans sent me." However, she included a link to her past appearance on his show. "You didn't know our state drink," she reminded him. "Big, big mistake."