Stephen Colbert Surges Past Jon Huntsman in South Carolina Primary Poll

Stephen Colbert may not have succeeded in buying the naming rights to the South Carolina Republican primary, but he is polling at a respectable 5 percent.

Seriously, he is. That's tied with Rick Perry and ahead of Jon Huntsman.

If Huntsman is hopeful he'll get a bump after his third-place finish in New Hampshire last night ... this is not it. Again, he is trailing comedian Stephen Colbert.

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The survey, by Public Policy Polling (PPP), puts the Comedy Central anchor, who is not (and was never) running, at an even 5 percent, with Perry. Huntsman has 4 percent.

With that projected vote tally, Colbert is in a tie for fifth behind Mitt Romney (30%), Newt Gingrich (23%), Rick Santorum (19%) and Ron Paul (10%), respectively.

Admittedly, many of Colbert’s supporters may be Democrats planning to participate in the Palmetto State’s open primary ... or just saying his name as a joke.

If so, nicely played.

Colbert also happens to be a South Carolina native and very involved in politics, albeit in an absurd way. Who knows, if his Colbert Nation Super PAC starts making some key ad buys, maybe he'll creep into double digits. Watch your back Mitt.