Since Stephen Colbert is considered to be one of the best talk show hosts, he has accumulated enough of a fortune that he is richer than many of his peers. The main reason for that is the fact that Stephen has had many memorable interviews, including an awkward one with Eminem and another that began with Helen Mirren kissing him.

Even though he is known as a talk show host, Stephen has had a lot of involvement in the political world. For example, Stephen was there when Mark Cuban called Donald Trump lazy, and he has interviewed a slew of politicians over the years. A lot of Stephen's fans don't know that he also has a personal connection to politics, since his sister once ran for office and lost.

Stephen Colbert's Sister Had A Failed Political Career

Since Stephen Colbert has been a successful talk show host for many years, he has revealed many facts about his life in the past. Among Stephen's fans, a truly tragic part of the talk show host's past is well known.

As a Biography article details, Stephen was only 10 years old when his father and two brothers were three of 72 people who lost their lives after a plane crashed. Since Stephen's brothers passed away, some people may assume that he was an only child after that, but that is far from true. Since Stephen's parents had 11 children, he still grew up with 8 other siblings.

Even though Stephen clearly is the most famous member of his family, one of his siblings briefly took a big role in the spotlight. The reason for that is the fact that Elizabeth Colbert Busch launched a failed political career in the early-2010s.

In May 2014, EOnline published an article about the outcome of Elizabeth Colbert Busch's attempted run for the house.

EOnline's article revealed that Elizabeth's run for the House of Representatives was the first time she tried to get elected to office.

Even though Elizabeth was a political novice, there were several reasons to think that she really had a chance to win. For example, Elizabeth had the advantage of having a little brother who was a famous TV star.

At the time of Elizabeth Colbert Busch's run for office, Stephen Colbert was still hosting The Colbert Report. As a result, that meant that Stephen was still known for the fictional character he portrayed as the star of that show.

In February 2013, WIS 10 TV published an article about Elizabeth's run for office. That article unsurprisingly detailed some of Stephen's attempts to help his big sister win the race.

According to WIS 10 TV's article, Stephen initially began reporting on his sister's run for office by feigning surprise. Stephen then pledged not to give his sister any free promotion on his show.

As a part of WIS 10 TV's article, the outlet reported on how Stephen Colbert first brought up the news that his sister Elizabeth Colbert Busch was running for office on his show. "Holy cow! My sister is running for Congress."

However, Stephen then began praising his sister in a hilarious way that made it obvious he was endorsing Elizabeth.

"As a broadcast journalist, I am obligated to maintain broad objectivity. It doesn't matter that my sister is intelligent, hardworking, compassionate, and dedicated to the people of South Carolina."

Stephen lent his support to Elizabeth in other ways as well.

In April 2013, Salon published an article that revealed that Stephen was hitting the campaign trail.

In July 2024, People published an article about Stephen Colbert's siblings. That article unsurprisingly touched on Elizabeth's run for office and detailed another reason why it seemed like she had a chance to win. According to People, Elizabeth won the democratic primary with 95 percent of the vote.

According to the outlet, Stephen was going to host a pair of fundraisers for his sister. One of those events was set to take place in Washington D.C. and required a minimum donation of $2,600 to attend.

Salon's article seemed to point to another reason why Elizabeth and her supporters had reason to think she could have won. At the time of that article, Elizabeth and her Republican rival were neck-and-neck in the polling.

Despite all the positive signs, there was one reason why some people may have felt Elizabeth's efforts were hopeless. According to EOnline's aforementioned article, it had been 30 years since a Democrat had last won the seat that Elizabeth was running for. In the years since Elizabeth lost the race, a democrat has only held that seat for two years, and it is currently held by Nancy Mace.

Still, it must have been disappointing for Elizabeth to lose, since the Republican who won was so controversial.

Stephen Colbert's Sister Lost To A Republican Politician After He Had A Huge And Ridiculous Scandal

On Stephen Colbert's current late-night show, there has been some over-the-top comedy. With that in mind, the controversy that the politician who beat his sister's political dreams got into would fit the show perfectly because his scandal was so incredibly strange.

In May 2013, Mark Sanford prevailed over Elizabeth Colbert Buschin in the election to represent South Carolina's 1st congressional district. Roughly four years earlier, however, Mark's political career was in extreme upheaval after he was caught in a truly strange lie and scandal.

In June 2009, ABC News reported on what happened after it was noticed that Mark had disappeared from the public eye for a week. At the time, Mark's spokesperson tried to explain the politician's disappearance by saying he was "hiking the Appalachian Trail."

However, the truth would later come out that Mark had actually flown to Buenos Aires, Argentina where he was having an affair. ABC News' article also quoted from Mark's emails in which he wrote about being in a "hopelessly impossible situation of love."

In response to the scandal, there were palpable calls for Mark to resign, but he steadfastly refused. Then, there was a serious effort to impeach Mark and remove him from office, but he survived that effort, as an article from the Idaho Statesman covered.

Despite hanging on, Mark left office in 2011 and walked away from politics for a couple of years. Then, Mark made his comeback by beating Stephen Colbert's sister in the 2013 election.