Colbert is top pick to replace DeMint

Talk-show host Stephen Colbert is South Carolina voters’ preferred candidate to replace Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), according to a new poll by the Democratic Public Policy Polling.

The Comedy Central host, who’s openly lobbied for the seat, leads a field where the rest of the names are Republicans: 20 percent of voters want South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) to appoint him to DeMint’s seat when the senator resigns from Congress.

{mosads}Haley has publicly ruled him out, however, because he didn’t know the official state drink is milk.

“Stephen, thank you for your interest in South Carolina’s U.S. Senate seat and for the thousands of tweets you and your fans sent me,” she wrote on her Facebook page on Friday. “But you forget one thing, my friend. You didn’t know our state drink. Big, big mistake.”

The rest of the names polled are Republicans, leading to a fractured field. Rep. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), whom sources say is DeMint’s favored choice, clocks in at second place with 15 percent support.

Rounding out the field are Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), at 14 percent, former South Carolina first lady Jenny Sanford (R), at 11 percent, former South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster (R) and former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R), at 8 percent apiece. GOP Reps. Jeff Duncan and Joe Wilson come in at 5 percent, and Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.), who is also reportedly interested in the seat, took at 4 percent.

With Colbert removed from the list, Jenny Sanford jumps to 17 percent, leading Scott by 1 point. With Colbert and the Sanfords removed, Scott jumps up to 19 percent, with McMaster at 17 percent and Gowdy at 15 percent.