Comedian Stephen Colbert is offering to pay half a million dollars to help subsidize South Carolina’s first-in-the-South GOP presidential primary, as state officials struggle to pay for it, but there’s doubt whether it would even be legal.
The Charleston native wrote in an op-ed Thursday in The State newspaper in Columbia that Colbert Super PAC — a type of political action committee that allows him to raise unlimited amounts of money from corporations, unions and individuals — will bridge the gap after state Republicans refused to contribute anything above $180,000 collected in candidates’ filing fees.
The state Election Commission, which administers South Carolina’s voting, has said it has $1 million on hand for the primary but is short of the total $1.5 million price tag. Spokesman Chris Whitmire says the Commission has notified budget officials the state may need to seek permission to run a deficit to fund the primary.
Colbert wrote that he offered make up that $500,000 funding gap after state Republicans ultimately turned down his proposal to pay them $400,000 if they’d name the contest after him. Party officials have confirmed meeting with Colbert earlier this year to discuss a deal that would have renamed the balloting “The Colbert Super PAC South Carolina Republican Primary” in exchange for a check from the comedian.
Colbert, who plays a mock conservative pundit on his Comedy Central TV show “The Colbert Report,” says he also wanted to put a question about “corporate personhood” on the January ballot. He seized on the issue after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling eased restrictions on campaign spending by corporations.
… Regardless of the party’s position, it would be up to the state whether to accept or reject any offer
Full Article: Colbert offering $500K to pay for SC GOP primary – CBS News.