Stephen Colbert's bid to get on the ballot for the upcoming Democratic primary in his home state was shot down on Thursday by the executive committee of the South Carolina Democratic Party. Colbert's bid was voted down 13-3.
The committee used criteria such as whether the candidate was recognized in the national news media as a legitimate candidate and whether they'd actively campaigned in the state.
Colbert's campaign paid the $2,500 filing fee necessary to get into the race just before the noon deadline on Thursday.
Colbert said on his show "The Colbert Report" that he had given up his dream of trying to get on the ballot as both a Republican and Democrat when he learned that the fee to run as a Republican was $35,000. He said he was only allowed to spend $5,000 based on election rules.
A recent national poll by a Republican polling firm of likely 2008 voters showed that in his short time in the running, Colbert was coming in at 2.3 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary. This put him in fifth place above Governor Bill Richardson (2.1 percent), Congressman Dennis Kucinich (2.1 percent) and former Senator Mike Gravel (less than 1 percent).
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