POLL: If Stephen Colbert Was in the Iowa Caucus, Would You Have Voted for Him?

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Stephen Colbert, host of the Comedy Central fake news show The Colbert Report, has announced he might be running for president. Sort of.

"I am proud to announce that I am forming an exploratory committee to lay the groundwork for my possible candidacy for the President of the United States of South Carolina!" Colbert said Thursday on his show, as balloons cascaded from the ceiling.

The announcement came after Public Policy Polling revealed he was ahead of GOP candidate Jon Huntsman in Colbert's home state of South Carolina, which is holding a Republican primary Jan. 21.

On Wednesday's show, he mused on the possibility of running, and on Thursday he handed the reigns of his Colbert Super PAC to fellow Comedy Central host Jon Stewart. Super PACs (political action committees) are allowed to spend unlimited amounts of money on a campaign as long as they do not coordinate directly with the candidate.

So we wondered - if Colbert is polling higher than Huntsman in South Carolina, how might he have done in Iowa? Could he have garnered more votes than Michele Bachmann or Rick Perry? Would some Romney supporters have picked him, delivering the state to Rick Santorum? Would more Independents or Democrats or just apathetic Republicans have showed up on Caucus night?

Could a presidential run meant as a comedic stunt have an impact on actual politics?

What do you think? Tell us in the comments, and take our poll to let us know if Colbert made a mistake by skipping Iowa, even if it's satire.