Elizabeth Colbert Busch the Target of Offensive Questions from Polling Group

Elizabeth Colbert Busch may be largely known to the media as "Stephen Colbert's sister," but she has also been a South Carolina Democratic candidate for the U.S. House since mid-January. In March, Colbert Busch won the Democratic primary with more than 95 percent of the vote — you read that correctly. Next: gearing up for May 7's election against former Republican governor, Mark Sanford.

We're no strangers to dirty campaign jabs, but a shady polling group called "SSI Polling" has been heavily engaged in the last leg of this congressional race. While there's no proof that SSI Polling is affiliated with former Gov. Sanford, it's been doing some pretty shady, anti-Colbert Busch campaigning. According to a report from Think Progress, the group has been calling female Democratic voters under the pretense of conducting a poll. Instead, they've been asking misleading questions about Colbert Busch to skew voters' opinions on the candidate. Questions like, What would you think of Elizabeth Colbert Busch if I told you she had had an abortion?

Whether an extension of Gov. Sanford's campaign or not, SSI Polling has been attempting to pit women who are registered Democrats against the Democratic women candidate by means of women's health issues. We're no experts, but something here is definitely awry. Topics like women's health — something Colbert Busch wholeheartedly supports — shouldn't be brought up to discredit a candidate, period. These are sacred issues, and should remain as such until the so-called War on Women is put to rest. We're hopeful this is a onetime incident rather than a developing future campaign strategy, and until then, we'll be anxiously awaiting the May 7 results.

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