South Carolina ballots won’t include Colbert

WASHINGTON – TV comedian Stephen Colbert’s mock presidential campaign suffered a setback Thursday when Democrats in South Carolina, the lone state where he pledged to run in both the Republican and Democratic primaries, denied him the political stage.

Although he paid a $2,500 filing fee, the executive committee voted to keep Colbert off the Democratic ballot, said state party chairwoman Carol Fowler. The filing fee will be returned to him, she said.

“I think this committee that votes took their responsibilities seriously. Our rules are pretty specific about what makes a legitimate candidate,” Fowler said. “There was nothing personal about him; they like him a lot, but they think this is a serious process.”

Colbert also missed the deadline Thursday to pay a $35,000 filing fee for a spot on the GOP ballot, a Republican official said. During Wednesday’s episode of “The Colbert Report,” Colbert said he wouldn’t spend the $35,000 for the GOP’s filing fee.

“Thirty-five thousand, guys?” he asked. “I understand you have to keep a club exclusive, but I paid less for my black-market liver.”

On the campaign trail recently, Colbert said, “I promise, if elected, I will crush the state of Georgia … Our peaches are more numerous than Georgia’s. They are more juiciful.”

With his deadpan delivery, Colbert first gained notoriety on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” before leaving for “The Colbert Report.”

Many have followed the television star’s every move since Colbert first announced his candidacy, which coincides with the release of his new book, “I Am America, (And So Can You!).”